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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

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Chap, Copyright No. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




Rev. D. Y. BAGBY, Ph.D. 



JESUS THE NAZARENE 



-IS- 



CERTAINLY THE MESSIAH 



-OF- 



JEWISH PROPHECY. 



BY REV. D; Y. BAGBY, PH.D., 

»f 

Author of "A Short History of the New Testament: or How the Neiv 

Testament Writings Have Been Kept Since the Apostles," 

"Rome in Prophecy," "Bible Baptism," etc., etc. 




LOUISVILLE, KY.: 

BAPTIST BOOK CONCERN, 

1897. 






-Pn \ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, by 

D. Y. BAGBY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



The Library 

OF C 
WASHINGTON 






MANY OTHER SIGNS THEREFORE DID JESUS IN THE 
PRESENCE OF THE DISCIPLES, WHICH ARE NOT WRIT- 
TEN IN THIS BOOK : BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN, THAT 
YE MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON 
OF GOD; AND THAT BELIEVING YE MAY HAVE LIFE IN 
HIS NAME. — JOHN 20:30,31. 



INTRODUCTION. 



4<LJAVING good, give." The author has 
J * found the real Good, and in these pages, 
proffers to give. "Oh! that I knew where I 
might find Him," has been the unuttered cry 
of the weary millions. To that way-worn and 
foot-sore throng this little volume offers to be 
the guide to His dwelling place. Many have 
found Him and are singing : 

"Jesus the very thought of thee, 
With sweetness fills my breast ; 
But sweeter far thy face to see, 
And in thy presence rest." 

To find Him, to know Him, is more than all 
besides. In this world's solitariness, ruin, sin, 
we need Him in his saving grace, in His pre- 
serving care, in His guiding eye, in His shap- 
ing hand, in His changeless love, and in His 
gathering arms. 

What a boon then is Christ to any smitten, 
seared, and scarred soul ! 

"When I found Him in my bosom, 
Then I found Him everywhere ; 
In the bud and in the blossom, 
In the earth and in the air." 

Oh ! that many may read, and that every 
reader may thereby find Him ! 

A. C. DAVIDSON. 
Georgetown College, Ky., 
May 25, 1897. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



THE SUBJECT STATED. 

1. Testimony of the Old Testament in General, ... 10 

2. The Object of this Book, 11 

3. God Only Can Foretell the Future, 13 



PART I. 
THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE COMING MESSIAH. 

1. General Promises of His Coming, 17 

2. Time of His Appearance, 19 

(1.) To be Before Judah Ceased to Rule, .... 19 
(2.) Certain Years After the Temple Should 

be Rebuilt, 20 

3. Place of His Birth, 22 

( 1.) The Town Named, 22 

(2.) This Town so Understood as His Birth- 
place, 23 

4. Manner of His Birth, 24 

(1.) Messiah's "Sign," 24 

(2.) Messiah's Names, 26 

CHAPTER II. 
MESSIAH'S RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. 

1. The Magi to Worship, 29 

2. Persecuted at Birth, 29 

3. To be Driven from His Native Country. 30 

5 



vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 
NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 

1. His Human Nature : His Ancestry, 33 

(1.) His Earliest Ancestry Named. 33 

a. To be of Abraham's Seed. 34 

b. Of the Seed of Isaac, 34 

c. And of the Seed of Jacob, 35 

d. And the Seed of Judah, 35 

(2.) His Later Ancestry Named, 36 

a. To be of the Seed of Jesse, 37 

b. And of the Seed of David, the King-, 37 

2. His Divine Nature : His Divinity, 39 

CHAPTER IV. 
MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 

1. His Gentleness, 44 

(1.) As a Tender Shepherd, 45 

( 2.) A Man of Meekness, 46 

(3.) Will be Pleasing to God, 48 

2. Will be Patient Under All Trials, 49 

(1.) He Will be Sorely Maltreated,. . 50 

( 2.) He Will be Silent When Afflicted, 52 

(3.) He Will Pray for His Enemies, 53 

3. Messiah's Doctrines, 55 

(1.) His Sceptre One of Righteousness and 

Love, 55 

( 2.) Regeneration Promised, 57 

(3.) The Holy Spirit to be Sent, 59 

CHAPTER V. 

MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 

1. Beginning of His Kingdom, 61 

( 1.) The Forerunner, 61 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii 

( 2.) The Wilderness Cry, 62 

( 3.) The Way Prepared, 63 

2. Messiah to be a Preacher of the Gospel, 67 

3. Messiah to be a Great Light, 71 

4. Messiah to be a Healer of the Afflicted, 72 

5. To Triumphantly Enter the Jewish Capital, ... 75 

6. And He Will Be Rejected, 76 

CHAPTER VI. 

MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 

1. The Betrayal, 84 

( 1.) The Betrayer, 85 

( 2.) The Price Paid 87 

( 3.) Disposition of Price Paid, 88 

(4.) The "Shepherd Smitten: The Sheep Scat- 
tered," 89 

■2. The False Witnesses, 90 

3. Treatment at the Cross, 91 

( 1.) What Messiah Himself Will t Do, 92 

a. Will Suffer for Others, 92 

5. He Will Intercede for His Perse- 
cutors, 94 

c. Messiah Will Cry Unto God, 95 

d. Will Die with Malefactors, 96 

( 2.) What Others Will Do Unto Messiah, .... 98 

a. Will Pierce His Hands andJHis Feet, 98 

b. Will Give Him Vinegar^to Drink, . . 99 

c. Will Divide His Garments : Cast 

Lots for His Coat, 100 

d. Will Break No Bone, But Pierce 

Him, ,...101 

e. Will Deride Him,. 103 

/. And Bury Him with the Rich, 104 



Viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 
MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. 

1. His Resurrection, 107 

2. Messiah's Ascension, 110 

CHAPTER VIII. 

HIS KINGDOM TO SPREAD THE 
WORLD OVER. 

1. To be a Missionary Kingdom, 113 

2. Mission Work Done by His Converts, 117 

CHAPTER IX. 

SOME NEGATIVE VIEWS OP THE 
LIFE OF JESUS. 
Some Things Which Could Not Have Been True 
of an Impostor, 120 

CHAPTER X. 
SOME UNAVOIDABLE CONCLUSIONS, 131 



PART II. 

THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 

The Old Testament Prophecies and the New 
Testament Fulfillments arranged in parallel 
columns, 135-178 



JESUS THE NAZARENE IS THE 
MESSIAH OF PROPHECY. 



THE SUBJECT STATED. 

IT would seem that a subject as important to 
the follower of Jesus as this subject is, 
would have been discussed till the whole mat- 
ter had become as familiar as the story of His 
birth, or His death on the cross; but when we 
attempt to find books on the subject, we learn 
that they are very few; in fact, this writer has 
not been able to find any one book wholly 
written on this theme. Two or three have chap- 
ters referring to this subject; but the whole 
thing has been neglected by the book writers; 
and this is a sufficient reason why the present 
writer now assumes the task of presenting this 
important theme to the public in the shape of a 
book. Do you accept Jesus as your Savior? 
How do you know that He is the One who was 
to come into the world to redeem the world 
from sin ? Do you reject Jesus ? How do you 
know but that He is the very One who was to 
come into the world on no other mission than 



10 JESUS IS THE MESSIAH OF PROPHECY. 

to redeem you and all others like you from 
your sins? We hope to learn something on this 
question of a Messiah, ere we have finished 
this book. 

1. THE TESTIMONY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 
IN GENERAL. 

No one can read the Old Testament with any 
degree of care without learning the fact that 
the authors of these writings were continually 
on the lookout for a Great and Glorious Per- 
sonage, who was to come into the world, at 
some time in the future, for the purpose of re- 
storing the people, in some way, to the favor 
of an offended God. So clearly was this seen 
by the Old Testament writers, that they wrote 
often and over again, of the coming Deliverer; 
they have given us many plain prophecies of 
His coming, and the more these writings are 
studied the more clearly is the fact seen that 
all the Old Testament writers had this event in 
view as they penned their sacred words. In an 
obscure way, the fact of the coming of some 
Great Sin-bearer was announced to the first 
human pair (Gen. 3:15), and as the world grew 
older, the prophecies were multiplied, and not 
only did they become more numerous, but they 



THE SUBJECT STATED. 11 

also became more definite and pointed, with a 
growing accuracy towards a certain Person, 
and to a definite time when He should come to 
redeem the people from their sins. 

These prophecies began to be written as far 
back as the days of Moses, fifteen hundred 
years before our Christian era, and some of 
them were announced to the world more than 
four hundred years before that date, and one 
(above cited) was made near four thousand 
years before the beginning of our present era; 
and continually from that date of Moses, with 
longer or shorter intervals intervening, the 
prophecies were multiplied concerning this 
Great Redeemer, up to within four hundred 
years of our era, at which time (400 B. C.) they 
ceased altogether. 

2. THE OBJECT OF THIS BOOK. 

It is the design of this book to examine and 
study these prophecies in as candid and un- 
biased a manner as it can be done, and learn, 
if possible, who fulfilled them, and when it was 
done; and, further, if they are not fulfilled yet, 
to see if there is a possibility of their being 
fulfilled. 

We shall learn that there are a number of 



12 JESUS IS THE MESSIAH OF PROPHECY. 

surroundings in which the Redeemer must 
come, in order to fulfill these prophecies; for 
instance, some of them tell us plainly who will 
be in power, and who have passed out of 
power, as well as the condition of the Jewish 
worship at the time when the great Deliverer 
shall make His appearance in the world. 

Now, it is certainly clear to any candid mind, 
that if these conditions have already come, 
have continued for a while, and have passed 
away, and passed so completely that it is prac- 
tically impossible for them ever to return; as 
this can be shown easily; for when certain na- 
tions have come and died away they can not 
exist again, any one knows; that also the time 
for the coming Deliverer has come and passed 
as well; certainly if all the environment in 
which He had to come has already come and 
gone forever, and that it is impossible for these 
to be repeated, then we have the whole ques- 
tion reduced down to but two propositions, viz. : 

1. There can never be a Redeemer; or 

2. The Redeemer has already come. 

With these two propositions stated so clearly 
that a child can comprehend them, let us pro- 
ceed to investigate the prophecies themselves, 
and learn who has fulfilled them, and when it 
was done. 



THE SUBJECT STATED. 13 

3. GOD ONLY CAN FORETELL THE FUTURE. 

Let us bear in mind the fact, that in the very 
nature of the constituted world, that none but 
an Omniscient God can foretell the future. 
There may be, and in fact, there are some 
things which occur, that are ruled by the laws 
of Nature's own mathematics, which may be 
told before hand, such as the eclipses, the tran- 
sits of certain planets, and such as are governed 
by the laws of unchanging nature. For instance, 
I may say now that in the year 2000, the sun 
will rise at six o'clock, March 21st; but the 
statement would not be a prophecy in the least; 
for this is ruled by the laws which have gov- 
erned the motions of the earth ever since it was 
set in motion in its present orbit. 

A prophecy is the foretelling of a future 
event, to which there is not, neither can there 
be, a mathematical clue for the solution of the 
problem, nor any other rule of natural law. 

That a particular individual is to be born into 
the world, at a given time, and that he will 
perform certain specified deeds, and also that 
other things will be done to him; and all these 
foretold by men living from 400 to 2000 years 
before the event takes place, are facts that no 



14 JESUS IS THE MESSIAH OF PKOPHECY. 

man can know, unless he be guided by Him who 
governs all things after the counsel of His own 
will, even the Omniscient God of the Universe 
Himself. Who dares to dispute this statement? 

In the future pages, we shall see what was 
said about the coming of the Great Personage: 
see what He will do, as well as learn what others 
will do unto Him; remembering, at the same 
time, that all these prophecies were predicted 
from 400 to 2000 years before they were ful- 
filled. 

We shall take up the periods of the life of 
the coming Redeemer, and arrange them, with 
the prophecies, in their respective eras, that 
they may all stand out clearly and with their 
full force, collectively; then may we see them 
at a glance bearing on one point, and get all 
the power of their combined testimony. 

Fart I. examines the prophecies separately 
as well as connectedly, adding such comments 
as the writer may think necessary. Part II. 
collects all the prophecies that bear upon any 
one point or part of the life of the Messiah, 
arranging them together, and also placing the 
fulfillment in a parallel column, without any 
comment. Notes of explanation will be found 
at the bottom of pages in the first part, but not 
repeated in the second. 



THE SUBJECT STATED. 15 

May the writer hope that there will be a 
careful and unprejudiced examination of these 
prophecies made by the reader, and that he 
or she will accept the testimony, and then act 
upon it in a way that will stand the test of both 
time and eternity ? 

If Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, as they 
both mean the same thing, will it not be wise 
to accept Him, and follow Him all your days? 
And will it not be the height of folly to reject 
Him, and turn after the world and the pleasures 
thereof, when you run such a risk of being lost 
forever ? 

May God help us to read and study the book 
as for eternity; and if there is one soul brought 
to see Jesus as his or her Savior, or if any 
Christian is strengthened in his or her faith in 
the Lord Jesus by the book, the writer will 
be abundantly paid for the labor spent upon 
its preparation. 



PART I. 

THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE COMING MESSIAH. 

1. GENERAL PROMISES OF HIS COMING. 

THERE are a number of promises that a 
Deliverer will come into the world at some 
time in the future, but with no definite data 
from which any idea can be obtained as to when 
this event shall occur. Such promises are 
given, not to enable any one to locate the time, 
but as an encouraging promise that He will 
surely come. Such passages as Num. 24:17, 
and some others similar, are of this kind: "I 
shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold 
Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out 
of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, 
and shall smite the corners of Moab." And 
again, the promise made to the first pair of 
human beings, when they had sinned, found in 
Gen. 3:15, as to the seed of the woman bruising 
the serpent's head; very indefinite, you may 



18 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

say, and so it is; but they understood it to refer 
to the Great Deliverer, as we may see from 
what Eve said when she had given birth to the 
first child ever born into the world, Gen. 4:1: 
"I have gotten a man, Jehovah." (Correct 
reading of Hebrew. y 

Again, we find Isaiah saying, 59:20: "And 
a Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them 
that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the 
Lord." Here again there is the promise that a 
Savior shall come, but no idea is given as to 
when He will appear upon the earth; but the 
promise stood as an encouragement to those of 
that day that there would come, some time, a 
Great Deliverer to help the people. 

So we find that Hag. 2:7, said: "And I will 
shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations 
shall come: and I will fill this house with 
glory, saith the Lord." 

While these prophecies are not so definite as 
to the time when Messiah was to come, yet 
taken with others, they are of value, and make 
the case stronger that there was certainly com- 
ing One who would redeem the people from 
their sins; and the people of those days knew 
that these passages referred to the Great and 
Mighty Deliverer of Israel. 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 19 

2. TIME OF HIS APPEARANCE. 
Besides these indefinite promises of His 
coming, we have some very clear and pointed 
prophecies as to when He might be expected 
upon the earth. The first definite one as to 
time, we find, is made more than two thousand 
years after the fall of Adam into sin, and it 
was made by Jacob. 

(1.) TO BE BEFORE JUDAH CEASED TO RULE. 

In the farewell which Jacob took of his sons, 
found recorded in Gen. 49:10, we find the 
first direct promise as to the time when Messiah 
should come. "The sceptre shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh* come; and unto Him shall 
the gathering of the people be." 

That is to say there shall be a ruler among 
the descendants of the children of Judah until 
the time when the Great Deliverer of Israel 
should come. 

The special question to us is, Did Jesus appear 
in the world at the proper time to fulfill this 

"The word here translated "Shiloh" is from the Hebrew (shalom) 
from "shalam," to be whole, safe, secure, and this form means "to be 
at peace" or "The peaceful One." It is the same word as is in Isa. 9:5: 
"Sar Shalom," "Prince of Peace," and is one of the names that was 
given to the Messiah by that prophet. 



20 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

prophecy? Was He born into the world before 
the descendants of Judah ceased to rule? Of 
course, to decide this question, we must learn 
vjhen He was born, and who was ruling at the 
time. 

Josephus and the New Testament, as well as 
contemporary writers, tell us that Herod the 
Great was on the throne of Judah at the time 
when Jesus was born, and that his wife was 
Mariamne, the daughter of Alexandra, who was 
the daughter of Hyrcanus the high priest. 
This Herod died just after the birth of Jesus, 
as we learn from Matt. 2:19. 

Jesus then fulfills completely this prophecy 
as to the time when the Messiah should be born 
into the world. 

<2.) TO BE BORN CERTAIN YEARS AFTER THE TEMPLE 
IS REBUILT. 

This is a date that there can be much cer- 
tainty about, as the order for rebuilding the 
temple had not been given when this prophecy 
was made, and it would be an easy matter to 
learn the time Messiah should come when the 
order to rebuild the temple should be given. 
Dan. 9:25 gives us quite a definite clue as to 
when Messiah must be born. The prophecy 
reads as follows: "Know therefore and under- 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 21 

stand, that from the going forth of the com- 
mandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, 
unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven 
weeks, and three score and two weeks." 

This is the most definite prophecy as to time 
that we have yet found, and one that can easily 
be comprehended. The ' * command to rebuild 
Jerusalem'' had not been given when this was 
spoken, and certainly when it is given, the date 
can be fixed with almost absolute certainty. 
Daniel wrote this prophecy in the year B. C. 
538, and the command to rebuild Jerusalem 
was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus, in the 
year 457 B. C. (See book of Ezra, chap. 7.) 
The weeks being understood to be weeks of 
years, as we find it in Num. 14:34, and Ezek. 
4:6, "each day for a year," being the Bible's 
own way of interpreting itself, we find that 
there were seventy times seven, or four hundred 
and ninety years from the time of the going 
forth of the commandment to build the city of 
Jerusalem; these 490 years being added to the 
year B. C. 457, brings us to the year A. D. 33, 
the time when Jesus was cut off or crucified. 

Again, we learn from Daniel that in the 
"Days of those kings, shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, .... it shall break in pieces 



22 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

and consume these kingdoms, and it shall stand 
forever." Dan. 2:44. 

We find in Luke 1:32, 33, concerning the 
prophecy of the angel as to the birth of Jesus: 
"He shall be great, and shall be called the 
'Son of the Highest'; and the Lord shall 
give unto Him the throne of his father David: 
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob 
for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no 
end." Here the prophecy made just before 
His birth agrees fully with Daniel's prophecy, 
made more than 600 years before the event 
took place. Tracing the promises step by step, 
we next come to the class of prophecies as to 
vihere He should be born. 

3. PLACE OF HIS BIRTH. 

As we go on in the investigation of these 
prophecies, we will be astonished sometimes, 
at the minute accuracy that God has pointed 
out the particulars as to the birth of Him who 
should redeem Israel; and here we have a care- 
ful naming of the very place where He must 
be born. 

(1.) THE TOWN NAMED. 

Micah, the Morasthite, who prophesied in 
the country of Judah, made a prophecy about 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 23 

the time of the death of Hezekiah, 710 B. C, 
as to where the coming Messiah should be born. 
His promise reads thus: 

Micah 5:2: "But thou Beth-lehem Ephratah, 
though thou be little among the thousands of 
Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth un- 
to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose 
goings forth have been from of old, from ever- 
lasting. " 

We need no more definite location where the 
Son of God should be born than this; and we 
must remember that this prophecy was made 
over 700 years before it was fulfilled. 

(2.) THE TOWN WAS SO UNDERSTOOD. 

The question may arise in the minds of some, 
"Is this sufficiently definite to enable the people 
to know where He must be born? " And we 
have only to turn to Matt. 2:1—6, to learn the 
facts in the case. From the report of the "chief 
priests and the scribes of the people" whom 
Herod called upon to know about the place 
where he should be born, we see that they made 
no hesitation in telling Herod that Messiah 
should be born in Bethlehem; and they quoted 
this very passage of Micah's as a sufficient proof 
that he must be born there. They made no de- 



24: THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

lay upon the subject, but answered at once, as 
if that question had been well understood long 
ago, and that it was readily answered by all 
who had given the subject any thought. 

Is it necessary to mention that Jesus was 
born in Bethlehem? Every one, who knows 
anything of the New Testament, knows also 
that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as we are 
told by Matt. 2:1. So, also, Luke tells the same 
story, Luke 2:4-7. Here we find complete ful- 
fillment as to the birth place of Jesus. 

4. MANNER OP HIS BIRTH. 

Certain things were told as to the way that 
Messiah was to be born into the world; and if 
these do not occur in the case of Jesus, He can 
not be the Messiah. Let us notice: 

(1.) MESSIAH'S "SIGN." 

There was a certain "sign" that was to at- 
tend the birth of Messiah, very extraordinary, 
and in fact, unprecedented, and yet it was to be 
the "sign" of the One who was to come to re- 
deem the world. It is Isaiah who gives us 
this "sign," and he tells it as follows: Isa. 7:14: 
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a 
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 25 

bear a Son, and shall call His name "Im- 
manuel."* 

We shall not stop here to comment upon this 
name, to show that He was to be Divine; that 
will be noticed later on; but we shall notice 
some striking things that must occur, when the 
Messiah should make His appearance in the 
world. The ' ' Sign " which God Himself gave, 
is one to which very many object, and they 
seriously complain of the way which God chose 
to bring His Son into the world. It is re- 
markably strange that God can not do things 
right and to the taste and notions of many of 
the sinners. If they were not sinners, what 
God does would be far more acceptable to 
them; and their objecting to the "sign," which 
God said should attend the coming of His Son 
into the world, only proves their sinful natures, 
but does not, in the least, destroy the fact that 
being born of a virgin was the God-chosen 
way for Messiah's birth. Had Jesus not been 
born of a virgin, He never could have laid a 
tenable claim to being the Messiah; for that 
very thing is the God-chosen "sign" by which 

*This is a Hebrew name, made up of the words, "im" means, 
"with;" "manu" means " Us;" and "el" a contraction of Elohim, iv 
common word for "God." Immanuel means therefore, literally 
" With us God," or "God with us." 
3 



26 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

His Son should be known when He appeared. 
Whoever objects to this virgin-birth of the 
Lord Jesus, rejects the very "sign" by which 
He was to be identified. Let this be pondered 
well before He be rejected. 

(2.) MESSIAH'S NAMES. 

Besides the name given Him in the last para- 
graph, there were some other names by which 
He should be known, and they are quite re- 
markable. Isaiah speaks again, and tells us 
these names of the Great Coming Redeemer. 
Says lie, Isa. 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a Son is given: and the government 
shall be upon His shoulder: and His name 
shall be called 'Wonderful Counsellor,' 'The 
mighty God,' 'The everlasting Father,' 'The 
Prince of Peace.' " 

Notice the meanings of these names, and 
learn something from each. We learn some 
characteristic of the one to whom a name is 
given by divine authority. Practically, all the 
Bible names, and especially those given by the 
voice of God, have a striking meaning, and if 
we learn the meaning of the name, we shall 
also learn some characteristic of the one who 
bears the name. 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 27 

"Abraham," father of a multitude; "Solo- 
mon," the man of peace; "Samuel," heard of 
God, and so on; so the names here given to the 
coming Messiah have each a remarkable mean- 
ing. The name "Messiah" means the One 
whom God has anointed; the same meaning 
is in the Greek word " Kristos," from which 
comes our word "Christ," all meaning the One 
whom God has anointed (to be king). So also 
He is called "Shiloh, " because He is the 
Peaceful One. "My peace I leave with you, " 
said He. The name "Yesuah," our word 
"Jesus," means "Savior"; and so these names 
given above reveal other characteristics to the 
wonderful Personage of the coming Messiah. 
"Peleh," translated "Wonderful," is quite an 
appropriate name for Him who is to have such 
a wonderful birth; in His matchless purity of 
His character; in the divine words which came 
from His lips; in His wonderful life, death and 
resurrection, as well as the wonderful influence 
His name has to this day over millions, indeed 
it is wonderful!! And the words "El Gibbor," 
translated "Mighty God," because He is mighty 
God indeed, "in whom dwells the fullness of 
the God-head bodily," Col. 2:9; and the name 
1 'Abhe Adh, ' ' translated ; ' Everlasting Father, " 



28 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

or as the Hebrew has it, "Father of Eternity;" 
though here a little babe born in Bethlehem, 
jet His goings forth are from everlasting; as 
He Himself said (John 8:58), "Before Abra- 
ham was, I am." 

And the name " Sar Shalom," "The Prince 
of Peace" (see note, bottom page 19), shows 
the Messiah to be a man of peace, as the- Lord 
Jesus Christ was in fact.* 

*Here might be inserted the name in Psa. 2:12, the unusual word 
in Hebrew, except in poetry, " Bar," but a dispute is as to what it is 
from ; some say it is from "bara," to create, but I believe it is from 
" barar," to choose, be chosen. 



CHAPTER II. 
MESSIAH'S RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. 



1. THE MAGI TO VISIT HIM. 

IN AVID speaks in Psa. 72:10 on this wise, 
likely about Solomon and his riches, but 
in type of the Messiah, "The kings of Tarshish 
and of the isles of the sea shall bring presents: 
the kings of Seba and Sheba shall offer gifts." 
Again in v. 15, "And He shall live, and to Him 
shall be given the gold of Sheba: prayer shall 
be made for Him, and daily shall He be 
praised. " Matt. 2:1,2, tells us of the praise that 
was offered to Jesus by the wise men from the 
East. 

2. PERSECUTED AT BIRTH. 
One would suppose that of all the visitors to 
this sin-cursed earth, He who was to free us 
from our sins, and bring us back into favor with 
God, would be the most welcome of all person- 
ages that could come to our world; but instead 
of being welcomed, He was to be so severely 
persecuted that it became a matter of prophecy, 



30 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

in the days of Jeremiah. He wrote in the time 
of the captivity, about the year 606 B. C, and 
following is what he says, Jer. 31:15: "Thus 
saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Raman, 
lamentation and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping 
for her children, refused to be comforted for 
her children, because they were not." It is 
only necessary to call the attention of the 
reader to the passage found in Matt. 2:16-18, 
to show that Jesus was so persecuted; Herod, 
wanting to worship Him, as he feigned, asked 
the wise men to return and report where the 
child could be found; but he intended to kill 
Him instead of paying Him divine honors. 
Then it was that he sent soldiers to Bethlehem 
and had all the children murdered from two 
years old and under; and the passage in Mat- 
thew says that this was the fulfillment of the 
prophecy made by Jeremiah as to the weeping 
in Ramah: so this sad prophecy finds fulfillment 
in its sadder sequel. 

3. WILL BE DRIVEN FROM HIS COUNTRY. 

"He came unto His own and His own re- 
ceived Him not," is the comment which John 
makes upon the way that the Lord was wel- 
comed, or rather not welcomed, by His people. 



MESSIAH'S RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. 31 

"He came to seek and to save that which was 
lost;" and the very lost oues whom He "came 
to seek and to save " are those who persecuted 
Him. Oh! the malice in the hearts of those 
who refuse to accept the Son of God: " Ye will 
not come unto me that ye might have life." 
says the patient Savior of lost men. 

Says Hosea 11:1: ' ; I . . . . loved Him, and 
called my Son out of Egypt. " Why should He be 
obliged to call His Son out of a foreign country? 
It is on account of the malice of those to whom 
He came. Says Matt. 2:li, 15: "When he 
(Joseph) arose, he took the young child and 
His mother by night, and departed into Egypt; 
and was there until the death of Herod; that 
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the 
Lord by the prophet saying, "Out of Egypt 
have I called my Son." 

Egypt, the prison of the ancestors of the 
Jews, becomes the retreat and refuge and home 
of Him, who is come to save the Jews and all 
the rest of the world. 

Is it not strange that fourteen and a half 
centuries after the Jews fled from Egypt that 
they might worship their God, here the Son of 
God must flee to Egypt to save His life from 
being taken by the Jews ? 



32 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Jesus was kept in Egypt till the death of 
Herod, after which He was brought back to the 
land of Palestine, and was taken to Nazareth: 
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by 
the prophets, " He shall be called a Nazarene." 
Matt. 2:23. 

Here in this obscure town, did the Son of 
God "increase in wisdom and stature (or age) 
and the favor with God and man," till He 
passed the days of his childhood, boyhood, and 
early manhood. Here He worked at the humble 
calling of a carpenter; and He learned the first 
lessons of nature, which He was so fond of 
using in His matchless parables during His 
public life and ministry. It was also here that 
He first worshipped His Father in His early 
years, ever attending the synagogue, "as was 
His custom." And here both prophecy and 
history leave the Messiah till His public appear- 
ance, except His attendance of worship in Jeru- 
salem, Luke 2:42-52. Luke adds that "He 
went down with them, and came to Nazareth, 
and was subject unto them: but His mother 
kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus 
increased in wisdom and stature (or age) and in 
favor with God and man." 



CHAPTER III. 
NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 



THE ancestry of the coming Messiah is very 
carefully pointed out by the prophets in 
the Old Testament. While they do not tell us 
each individual who shall be in the line of His 
descent, yet so clearly is the line traced, that 
no fair minded person can be misled, or fail 
to see whence He must come. Let us notice 
how clearly the line is traced by the prophets. 

1. HIS HUMAN NATURE : HIS NATURAL 

ANCESTRY. . 

There seems to be two periods chosen by the 
prophets in which men are named as the an- 
cestors of Messiah, and those who are named 
in each group are father, son, etc. 

(1.) HIS EARLIEST ANCESTRY NAMED. 

Beginning as far back as the year 2000 B. C, 
or near that time, we find the first name in the 
list of His ancestors: we see that He will be 

33 



34 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

CI. OF ABRAHAM'S SEED. 

The very first promise of the Messiah's an- 
cestry was recorded of Abraham, and that 
promise is repeated a number of times, no less 
than five times in the book of Genesis: chaps. 
12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; and 28:14. 

We will not quote all of them, but as a sample 
of these promises, let us take Gen. 22:18: 
"And in thy (Abraham) seed shall all the 
nations be blessed; because thou hast obeyed 
my voice." The same thought is in all the 
other passages named; as the promises advance, 
they grow in definiteness. Abraham was the 
father of several sons (Gen. 25:1-7) but the 
prophecies narrow the line to very particular 
limits, as we shall notice in the following: 

b. TO BE OP THE SEED OF ISAAC. 

In Gen. 21:12, the promise is given to Isaac 
to be one of the ancestors of the Messiah; for 
it says, "For in Isaac shall thy seed be called." 

Paul positively says that this refers to Mes- 
siah (Christ) in Gal. 3:16. He says, "Now to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. 
He saith not, 'And to seeds,' as of many; but 
as of One, 'And to thy seed,'' which is Christ" 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 3-5. 

(Messiah). Tracing the line of ancestry of 
Messiah, the next named is 

C. HE IS TO BE OF THE LINE OF JACOB. 

In the books of Moses we find two very clear 
prophecies that Messiah shall be of the seed of 
Jacob. Num. 24:17: " 1 shall see Him, but not 
now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there 
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre 
shall rise out of Israel." And then, v. 19: 
" Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have 
dominion." Of the sons of Isaac, Esau is 
rejected, and Jacob chosen to be the son 
through whom the Messiah is to come. 

These prophecies are as sign-boards to point 
to Him who was promised ; and they are given 
that we as well, may also know Him. How 
carefully does God mark the line ! With what 
accuracy does he point out the very footsteps 
of His coming Son ! 

d. TO BE OF THE LINE OF JUDAH. 

The promises are not quite as clear that Judah 
is in the line of Messiah's ancestry, but suf- 
ficiently explicit as to leave but little doubt 
that he is one of the line. We shall notice 
two prophecies that do not mention the name 
of Judah, but the third does name him. Says 



36 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Moses inDeut. 18:15: "The Lord thy God will 
raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of 
thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto Him 
ye shall hearken." And in v. 18 of the same 
chapter, he says, using the words of God himself: 
"I will raise them up a Prophet from among 
their brethren, like unto thee (Moses), and will 
put my words in his mouth ; and he shall speak 
unto them all that 1 shall command Him." 
But the following is a little more specific as to 
Judah being in the line of Messiah's ancestry. 
Gen. 49:10: "The sceptre shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh* come ; and unto Him shall 
the gathering of the people be." 

With Judah ends, for many years, the nam- 
ing of those who are to be the ancestors of 
Messiah ; there is a period of over Jive hundred 
years, in which there is no one named ; not till 
we come to the days of Jesse. Here we have 
but two names given clearly, though we might 
claim the name of Solomon ; still there may be 
a little reasonable doubt about his name ; we 
will mention then, 

( 2.) HIS LATTER ANCESTRY. 

Leaving blank the intervening names who 
should be in the line, and not taking into the 

* See note, page 19. 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 37 

account the historical statement about the 
ancestry of Jesse, given in Ruth, chap. 4, we 
come to the direct prophecies. 

a. HE IS TO BE OF THE SEED OF JESSE. 

Isa. 11:1: "And there shall come forth a rod 
out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall 
grow out of his roots." v. 10: "And in that 
day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall 
the Gentiles seek." - 

And now we come to the last name men- 
tioned in the line. 

h. OF THE SEED OF DAVID. 

Says Psa. 89:3,4: "I have made a covenant 
with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my 
servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and 
build up thy throne to all generations." Also 
vv. 29 and 36. Jeremiah also mentions David 
as in the line of Messiah's progenitors, Jer. 
23:5,6: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, 
that I will raise unto David, a Righteous 
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and justice in the 
earth. In His day shall Judah be saved, and 
Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name, 
The Lord, Our Righteousness." So, again 



38 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Jer. 33:15 says of the Messiah's coming in the 
line of David: "In those days, and at that 
time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness 
to grow up unto David: and He shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in the land." 

These last prophecies can not have referred 
to David or Solomon in person; for they had 
been dead many years when Jeremiah wrote 
these words; it must refer to the Messiah. 

With this closes the prophecies as to the 
particular line of ancestry in which Messiah 
must come; we refer to the accounts of Mat- 
thew and Luke as to the ancestry of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Turning to these accounts, we 
see that both Matthew and Luke give these 
very identical names as in the line of ancestry 
of which Jesus was born. Every name is men- 
tioned in the two accounts, and not in the same 
order, but in a reversed order, Matthew begin- 
ning with Abraham and coming on down to 
Jesus, while Luke begins with Jesus and goes 
back to Abraham, and in fact, to Adam; yet 
all the names are in both; Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, Judah, and then the names in between, 
and then Jesse and David. Certainly here is 
a remarkable fulfillment in the case of Jesus of 
]Nazareth, as to the line of His birth. 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 39 

2. HIS DIVINE NATURE : HIS DIVINITY. 

And now we approach the greatest mystery 
of the Messiah: that He is to be both human 
and divine! Partaking of the nature of both, 
and combining in Himself both God and man! 
This is, and was, and is likely to remain, 
the greatest mystery connected with the God- 
man, who was to save the world from sin. 
While the prophecies are not so numerous as 
on some other points connected with the Mes- 
siah, yet they are very definite. Difficult as 
the two natures of the Messiah are to be under- 
stood, human and divine combined, yet it was 
clearly foretold that Messiah must have just 
such a compound nature. 

And then think of it, dear reader, how else 
could it have been? Had He come, a mere 
man, even though perfectly holy and sinless, 
what could He have done towards saving men \ 
His death would have had no merit in it more 
than was necessary for Himself as a man, and 
could have done no one else one particle of 
good ; it would have been but the death of a 
good man, and that is all ; and if He had come 
as God, altogether in His divine nature, He 
could have had no crucifiable nature, so to 



40 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

speak ; no nature that could have suffered for 
lost sinners ; therefore the Redeemer had to 
come, in the very nature of things, as a God- 
man, combining the natures of both, that He 
might reconcile the two together. Those who 
deny His humanity, would totally unfit Him 
from being available to do the work that a 
Redeemer must do ; and on the other hand, 
those who deny His divinity also deny to Him 
that essential holiness and meritorious value 
that must be in the Redeemer of lost men ; but 
Jesus, fathered by divinity and mothered by 
humanity, unites and combines in the One 
being all the essential qualifications that are 
absolutely indispensable in the Redeemer of 
sinful humanity. 

So much for that question ; and now let us 
look at what the prophets said Messiah would 
be. 

Isaiah and Jeremiah tell us about this two- 
fold nature. They lived six or seven centuries 
before the year of our Lord. Isaiah wrote 
about a hundred years before the "Babylonish 
Captivity," in the land of Judah, about 760 
B. C, when he began, and closed about 700 
B. C. Jeremiah wrote during the captivity, 
beginning some years before it, and closing 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 41 

during that period. Notice then, first, Isa. 9:6: 
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is 
given : and the government shall be upon his 
shoulder : and his name shall be called Won- 
derful Counsellor, The mighty God, The ever- 
lasting Father, The Prince of Peace. " Divinity 
is too plainly seen here to need any comment, 
but it is even clearer, if possible, in the next 
passage quoted. 

Isa. 25:9: "And it shall be said in that day, 
Lo, this is our God : we have waited for Him; 
and he will save us : this is the Lord ; we have 
waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in 
His salvation." Here it is plainly stated that 
He is to be divine ; He is "Our God." 

Jeremiah is as clear as to his divinity when 
he says, "Behold the days come, saith the 
Lord, that I will raise unto David a Righteous 
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,, 
and shall execute judgment and justice in the 
earth. In His days shall Judah be saved, 
and Israel shall dwell in safety : and this is 
His name, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS." Jer. 23:5,6. 

That Jesus fulfilled all these prophecies we* 
have but to turn to the first chapter of John, ini 
which he says he did fulfill them. Says John,, 



42 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

1:1-3: "In the beginning was the Word, and 
the Word was with God, and the Word was 
God. The same was in the beginning with 
God. All things were made by him ; and 
without him was not any thing made that was 
made." 

And so the whole chapter goes on to show 
that Jesus was a divine being, as the prophets 
said Messiah would be. 

Paul asserts the same about Jesus, Phil. 2:6: 
"Who, being in the form of God, thought it 
not robbery to be equal with God." So Jesus 
said it of himself to the woman at the well of 
Jacob, John 4:26. Also John 10:30: "I and 
my Father are one." So John 17:22: "That 
they may be one as we are one" (i. e. God and 
Jesus). 

The divinity of Jesus is one of the leading 
and foremost doctrines of the whole New Tes- 
tament, more written of by John than any one 
else, as that was one of the leading features of 
his Gospel ; but mentioned by nearly every one 
of the New Testament writers, and dwelt upon 
by all as the hope of the Christian and the 
foundation of the entire structure of the Chris- 
tian religion. Strange as the two-fold nature 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 43 

of the Christ was then and is yet, they seemed 
to rest everything upon this fact. 

Wonderful as the Messiah was to be, we find 
that the man Christ Jesus was just as remark- 
able ; just as incomprehensible in his two-fold 
nature ; combined the same natures, human and 
divine, that it was foretold by the prophets 
Messiah would have. 

Does not the babe of Bethlehem fulfill these 
prophecies ? 



CHAPTER IV. 
MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 



QS the prophecies approach nearer the time 
/ for Messiah to come, they become more 
numerous, clearer, and more minute. We will 
now notice some characteristics both of the 
Messiah Himself as well as His doctrines which 
He shall advance. 

1. MESSIAH'S GENTLENESS. 

We are not left in doubt as to the disposition 
of Messiah, but He is fully pictured by the 
prophets. Oh ! how God did prepare the world 
for the recognition of His Messiah when He 
should come, but how poorly they did recog- 
nize Him, and how slow they were to accept 
Him ; and many are just as slow to accept Him 
now. Often do they tell us what He is to be, 
and right well, indeed, do they picture the Man 
Jesus the Nazarene. Let us observe that they 
tell us He will be, 

44 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 45 

(1.) AS A TENDER SHEPHERD. 

Says Isa. 40:11: "He shall feed his flock 
like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs in 
his arms, and carry them in his bosom." What 
a beautiful picture this is of the tender care 
Messiah will have for His own. Such gen- 
tle love, such true devotion to those who are 
His redeemed. And also says Ezek. 34:23 : 
"And I will set up one Shepherd over them, 
and he shall feed them, even my servant 
David ;* he shall feed them, and he shall be 
their shepherd." 

How fittingly the verse comes to mind, Fsa. 
23:1: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not 
want." But when we come to look at the ful- 
fillment of these passages and others, He be- 
comes still more gentle and tender towards the 
redeemed. John tells us much of the "Good 
Shepherd" in his Gospel. See the words of 
Jesus Himself, "I am the Good Shepherd: 
The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the 
sheep." So tender is His love, so much is He 
interested in the sheep that He even lays down 
his own life for them that they may not perish, 

*This can not refer to David personally, for he had been dead more 
than five hundred years when this was written. It must therefore 
refer to the Great Representative of the throne of David, even the 
Messiah Himself. 



46 JESUS IS THE MESSIAH OF PROPHECY. 

but be safe. Paul says of Him, Heb. 13:20: 
"Now the God of peace, that brought again 
from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great 
Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of 
the everlasting covenant." So in Peter 2:25, 
we find additional testimony as to His being the 
Great Shepherd who was to come: "For ye 
were as sheep going astray; but are now re- 
turned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your 
souls." Other passages can be found to the 
same point ; for instance, in the tenth of John, 
several passages are recorded :■ v. 7, "I am the 
door of the sheep;" -v. 14, "I am the Good 
Shepherd;" v. 16, " Other sheep have I;" v. 26, 
"But ye (Jews) believe not, because ye are not 
my sheep ;" v. 27, "My sheep hear my voice, 
and I know them, and they follow me;" and 
nearly the whole chapter is a figure of Jesus 
being the Shepherd of the sheep, as the proph- 
ets said Messiah would be. 

(2.) A MAN OF MEEKNESS. 

Messiah was never to be a noisy man in the 
streets, but would be a man of peculiar meek- 
ness, as we see from the two following pas- 
sages : Isa. 42:2,3, "He shall not cry, nor lift 
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 47 

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the 
smoking flax shall he not quench." And the 
passage in Zechariah, as to His entering Jeru- 
salem, he also mentions how lowly He will be. 

Zech. 9:9, ''Behold, thy King cometh unto 
thee : he is just, and having salvation ; lowly, 
and riding upon an ass." 

Certainly the one who can fulfill all these 
conditions must be a man of remarkable char- 
acter ; one who shall possess more than the 
usual amount of patience and gentleness. 

Let us see how Jesus fulfills them. 

Matthew 12:19, says the action there men- 
tioned was done that it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by the prophet Esaias : "He shall 
not cry; neither shall any man hear his voice 
in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not 
break, and smoking flax shall he not quench." 
This is very pointed and direct testimony to the 
gentleness of Jesus, and we find the same 
writer continues, 21:4,5 : "All this was done, 
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by 
the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of 
Sion, Behold, thy King cometh to thee, meek, 
and sitting upon an ass." The gentleness of 
Jesus is one of the most striking, as well 
as one of the greatest characteristics of His 



48 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

wonderful life. His was a life of love and 
tenderness, of "going about doing good," and 
never was He seen noisy in the streets, or in 
any way boisterous. He was as quiet as a 
woman, though never effeminate ; as tender as 
a nursing mother, yet never unmanly; surely 
this man answers to the full description of 
Messiah's meekness. 

(3.) HE WILL BE WELL-PLEASING TO GOD. 

Says Isa. 42:1: "Behold my servant, whom 
I uphold ; mine elect, in whom my soul de- 
lighteth ; I have put my Spirit upon him : he 
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." 
More than once do we hear the voice of God, 
in the New Testament, calling Jesus His be- 
loved. Says God, in Matt. 3:17 : "This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
Again, Matt. 12:17,18 : "That it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, 
saying, Behold my servant, whom I have 
chosen ; my beloved, in whom my soul is well 
pleased." And still again, Matt. 17:5: "This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; 
hear ye him." 

God was remarkably well pleased with Jesus ; 
why are not you, dear reader, well pleased 
with him also ? 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 49 

Certainly no one can ask for a less holy 
Savior than Jesus was ; for of what use to the 
world could a Savior be that was not absolutely 
holy? He could be of no more use than any 
other man. And then on the other hand, a 
more holy Savior can not be demanded than 
Jesus was ; for He was without sin at all ; more 
holiness He could not have ; less holiness would 
render him unfit to be a Savior at all ; there- 
fore was God well pleased with Him ; why will 
you not be also well pleased with this Son of 
God? 

2. HE WILL BE PATIENT UNDER ALL TRIALS. 

This is one of the strange characteristics of 
Messiah. When the Jews read that He was to 
be a great conqueror, as they could easily learn 
from the prophecies about him, and also saw 
that He was to be very meek and humble under 
all trials, they could not comprehend how these 
two apparently contradictory characteristics 
could be united in one and the same person ; 
and therefore, they believed that there were to 
be two Messiahs ; one a great conqueror, and 
the other an humble, meek man, patient under 
all trials. They failed to understand how so 
great a conqueror as Messiah was to be could 



50 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

also be the humble, meek "Man of Sorrow" 
that the prophecies said Messiah should be. 

(1.) HE WILL BE SORELY MALTREATED. 

As to the maltreatment which Messiah should 
endure, we have more than one passage to tes- 
tify. Notice how minute. Isa. 50:6: "I gave 
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them 
that plucked off the hair : I hid not my face 
from shame and spitting." In the very same 
tone do we find Jeremiah, in the Lamentations, 
3:30, foretelling Messiah's maltreatment : "He 
giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him : he 
is filled full with reproach." 

How strangely this must have sounded to the 
proud Jews, who were looking for, and espec- 
ially wanting a haughty potentate to be their 
deliverer. 

Consulting the testimony in regard to Jesus, 
let us see how his maltreatment coincides with 
that which these prophecies foretold of Mes- 
siah's. 

All the four writers of the Gospel come in 
as witnesses. Take them in the order that they 
appear in the New Testament : Matt. 26:67,68: 
"Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted 
him; and others smote him with the palms of 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 51 

their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou 
Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" And 
again the same in Matt. 27:30: "And they spit 
upon him, and took the reed, and smote him 
on the head.' 1 Mark uses almost the same 
words as Matthew, in giving his evidence. 
Mark 14:65: "And some began to spit on him, 
and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to 
say unto him, Prophesy : and the servants did 
strike him witli the palms of their hands." 

Luke tells the same story, but modifies the 
words, 22:63,64: "And tjie men that held Jesus 
mocked him, and smote him. And when they 
had blindfolded him, they struck him on the 
face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who 
is it that smote thee? " 

Not only did Jesus endure these indignities, 
but even greater ones. Mark 15:15: "And so 
Pilate, willing to content the people, released 
Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when 
he had scourged him. " So Matt . ,27:26: ' 'An d 
when he had scourged Jesus." And also says 
John, 19:1: "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, 
and scourged him." And so continued the 
brutal treatment as long as they wished to 
abuse him. When we remember what a Roman 
scourging was, we can better understand how 



52 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

severe the maltreatment was which the Messiah 
should receive, and the treatment that Jesus 
did endure was identical with it. 

It might be well to stop and ask what the 
prophets say the Messiah should do, under all 
these trials and indignities. 

(2.) HE WILL BE SILENT, WHEN AFFLICTED. 

Humanly speaking, it would seem that if the 
great Son of the living God should be so treat- 
ed as the prophets said he would, the very 
heavens would come* down to avenge his 
wrongs. 

Turn to Isa. 53:7, where we are told what the 
Messiah would do, when grossly abused. "He 
was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he 
opened not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb 
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. " 
Let us see the very remarkable manner in 
which Jesus fulfilled all these things : Matt. 
26:62,63: "And the high priest arose, and said 
unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it 
which these witness against thee ? But Jesus 
held his peace." So again in Matt. 27:12-14: 
"And when he was accused of the chief priests 
and elders, he answered nothing. Then said 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 53 

Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many 
things they witness against thee ? And he an- 
swered him to never a word : insomuch that 
the governor marvelled greatly." Does not 
Jesus here fulfill the prophecies concerning 
Messiah ? 

(3.) WILL PRAY FOR HIS ENEMIES. 

And what further did the prophets say Mes- 
siah would do, under all these trials? We 
have learned that he would be silent, and that 
Jesus was remarkably silent, so that even Pi- 
late marvelled greatly; but there are some other 
things that Messiah would do also. He would 
pray for those who maltreated him. We will 
see if Jesus did this. • 

Psa. 109:4: "For my love they are my ad- 
versaries : but I give myself unto prayer." 
That is to say, because Messiah loved the peo- 
ple whom He came to save, they were His 
adversaries ! Very strange statement indeed ! 
When we love people, and want to do them 
good, then it is that they ought to treat us, at 
least, civilly; but not so with the Messiah: it 
was because He did love them, and wanted to 
do them good by saving their souls from sin, 
is the reason given why they hated him. It is 



54 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

the same to-day, and lias been, all the days 
since man became a sinner ; hating Him who 
wants to benefit you by taking you away from 
your sins. Look at what Jesus did, and com- 
pare it with what Messiah was to do, and learn 
how they correspond. 

Luke 23:34: "Then said Jesus, Father, for- 
give them; for they know not what they do." 
Praying for his tormentors, while they were 
tormenting him the most severely ! Does not 
Jesus here fulfill the prophecy ? Says Paul, 
Rom. 8:34: " Who is he that condemneth ? It 
is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen 
again, who is even at the right hand of God, 
who also maketh intercession for us." 

A -persecuted, patient intercessor for sinners, 
Messiah was to be: Jesus was a patient, perse- 
cuted intercessor for sinners. In reason, does 
not Jesus here fulfill the prophecies concerning 
Messiah % 

Jesus still is at the right hand of the Father 
to make intercession for every one, who will 
repent of his sins and turn to God for pardon. 
It is one of the leading doctrines of the New 
Testament that Jesus is the intercessor for sin- 
ners, just as it is prophesied that Messiah 
should be. He is ready to intercede for you, 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 00 

dear reader, if you will turn to Him in repent- 
ance. 

Will you not give Him that heart of thine? 

3. MESSIAH'S DOCTRINES. 
Never had there been a kingdom in the 
world which had not been ruled by the power 
of might and prowess of the king ; but when 
the kingdom of the Messiah is to be set up, it 
shall be one that shall have altogether a differ- 
ent mode of government. Instead of the sword 
and spear or our modern firearms as the sceptre 
by which His kingdom should be ruled, Mes- 
siah should introduce a very different way of 
governing his kingdom : one of righteousness 
and love by which he should move his follow- 
ers to obedience, as well as to win others to 
his kingdom. Such a thing had never been 
heard of, and was never attempted except by 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice 

(1.) HIS SCEPTRE TO BE ONE OF LOVE AND 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

In David's Psalm the 45th, vv. 6, 7, we find 
these words, in reference to Messiah's rule : 

"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever : 
the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wicked- 



56 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

ness : therefore God, thy God, hath anointed 
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fel- 
lows." 

Let him who comes claiming to be the Mes- 
siah, attempt to rule his kingdom by other means 
than by the love here expressed, and he can 
have no claim whatever, to being the Messiah 
of prophecy. How was it with the Lord Jesus? 
Heb. 1:8, tells us that this very quotation was 
fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. 

Again in John 13:34: Jesus says "A new 
commandment 1 give unto you, That ye love 
one another; as I have loved you, that ye also 
love one another." And in eleven other places 
can we find this same thought expressed as to 
the "new" commandment of loving one an- 
other. John 15:12: "This is my command- 
ment, That ye love one another, as I have 
loved you." And so might all the other pas- 
sages be found in the same line. This is 
indeed a "new" commandment; they had 
heard the old commandments in the decalogue; 
but here is a "new" one which Jesus brings 
into the world. Personal love, not only be- 
tween God and man, but personal love between 
man and man. The kingdom of Jesus would 
knit all mankind into a great family of loving 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 57 

brotherhood, did all mankind accept His teach- 
ings, and become converted by the power of 
the Holy Spirit. 

(2.) REGENERATION PROMISED. 

We read from Jer. 31:33, the promise of the 
remarkable doctrine of being "born again." 
"But this shall be the covenant that I will 
make with the house of Israel ; After those 
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their 
inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and 
will be their God, and they shall be my 
people." So do we find the same thought re- 
peated in the very next chapter, in these words, 
Jer. 32:39: "And I will give them one heart, 
and one way, that they fear me for ever." 
Also Ezek. 36:26, testifies to the same idea 
with a little variation of words, thus: "And a 
new heart also will I give you." Certainly the 
meaning that is to be here learned is that an 
inward remodeling of the sinner is to take place,, 
and that God is to be the author of that change, 
as is seen by the expression, "Writing His law 
in their hearts," and "giving a new heart," 
etc. This strange doctrine was never taught: 
till we hear it from the sacred lips of the Lord; 
Jesus, as he taught it to Nicodemus, John 3:3: 



58 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man 
(any one) be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." And v. 7: "Marvel not 
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." 
Such a new teaching was too new for Nicode- 
mus to comprehend ; and he asked a foolish 
question, showing that he had no idea as to 
what it really meant? but Jesus told him the 
absolute necessity of having a new nature, be- 
fore one can hope to enjoy the blessings of 
heaven. Based upon the teachings of the Sav- 
ior, the New Testament writers say much con- 
cerning the same doctrine. Paul in II. Cor. 
5:17: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new 
creature ; old things are passed away; behold, 
all things are become new." This teaching is 
plain, that to enter the kingdom of heaven, 
one must have a renewed nature, and the change 
must be made by the God who created man ; 
and not until then is he at all ready to enjoy 
the presence of God, having the same nature 
with God. 

How could man enjoy being with God, and 
yet have a sinful nature? Paul's passage in 
Rom. 8:16,17, fits well here: "The Spirit it- 
self beareth witness with our spirit, that we are 
the children of God : And if children, then 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 59 

heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
Christ." 

There was also another promise which was to 
be fulfilled when the Messiah came, a thing 
that was never heard of before, in the world's 
history; and that was, 

( 3.) THE PROMISED ABIDING PRESENCE OF THE 
HOLY SPIRIT. 

This was as new to the world as was the 
promise of the renewed nature, or Regenera- 
tion, but none the less clearly promised. 

Ezek. 11:19: Says God, "I will put a new 
spirit within you; and I will take the stony 
heart out of their flesh." And so he repeats 
the same promise in a later chapter, Ezek. 
36:26,27: "And a new spirit will I put within 
you: and cause you to walk in my statutes, and 
ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." 
This new and strange doctrine had its fulfill- 
ment after the Lord Jesus came and went. He 
promised the Spirit a number of times, mostly 
recorded by John. For instance, John 16:7: 
tl It is expedient for you that I go away; for if 
I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto 
you." Also in 15:26: "But when the Com- 



60 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

forter is come, whom I will send unto you from 
the Father." And so other passages: turning 
to the book of Acts 2:1,4, we may learn what 
was meant by "sending the Comforter," for it 
reads, "And when the day of Pentecost was 
fully come, . . . they were all filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and began to speak," etc. 

Notice, or you may fail to see the point in 
full. God had promised to send the Holy 
Spirit when the Messiah should come : and not 
until He did come, need any one expect that 
the Holy Spirit should come ; but when the 
Lord Jesus had come and gone back to heaven, 
it was then, and not until then that the Holy 
Spirit came to fulfill the promise. What must 
be the unavoidable conclusion, then dear 
reader? Certainly there can be but one con- 
clusion, and that is, this same Jesus must be 
the promised Messiah. Certainly the dullest 
mind can see that Jesus must be the Messiah; 
for he fulfills the prophecies about Messiah; 
then Jesus and Messiah are one and the same 
person, quod demonstandum est. 



CHAPTER V. 
MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 



\ I /E dow come to consider the commence- 
ment of the work Messiah was to do in 
the world ; how it shall begin, together with 
the account of the man who was to usher in the 
early stages of the Messiah's earthly labors, 
and apprize the world that Messiah was at 
hand. Let us notice then, 

1. THE BEGINNING OP HIS KINGDOM. 

Messiah should not appear in the world un- 
heralded, but He should have some one to go 
before Him to announce His arrival ; so we will 
now listen to 

(1.) THE FORERUNNER. 

We have three distinct prophecies that there 
is to be a forerunner, whose duty it is to warn 
the people to prepare for His coming, and to 
apprize the world generally that the day of 
Messiah is at hand. It was John the Baptist, 



62 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

who came to tell the people that the Messiah 
was near, even at hand, and that they should 
repent and turn to this Messiah. 

(2.) THE WILDERNESS CRY. 

The first prophecy was made over seven hun- 
dred years before the coming of the Lord 
Jesus, and the two later were made about four 
hundred years before His coming. 

Says Isa. 40:3: "The voice of him that crieth 
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord, make straight in the desert a highway 
for our God." John the Baptist came in the 
wilderness of Judea, u in the fifteenth year of 
the reign of Tiberius Cesar, Pontius Pilate be- 
ing the governor of Judea," Luke 3:1, and 
created quite an excitement throughout the 
whole country; insomuch that the Jews sent 
the priests from Jerusalem to inquire of him 
who he was: and his answer was, John 1:23, 
"I am the voice of one crying in the wilder- 
ness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as 
said the prophet Isaias." Matthew, Mark and 
Luke give similar accounts of John and his 
work. John the Baptist, though a very modest- 
man, laid full claim to being the one sent to 
make this cry in the wilderness. 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 63 

(3.) THE WAY PREPARED. 

Malachi the last prophet who wrote in the 
Old Testament, ch. 3:1, says: "Behold, I will 
send my messenger, and he shall prepare the 
way before me." And the very last thing that 
is said in the Old Testament is that the Messiah 
should come, and that there should be a mes- 
senger to prepare the way for Him. 

Mai. 4:5,6: "Behold, I will send you Elijah 
the prophet before the coming of the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn 
the heart of the fathers to the children, and the 
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I 
come and smite the earth with a curse." And 
thus closes the Old Testament. 

From these passages just quoted, it is be- 
yond doubt that there was to come some one to 
prepare the way for the Messiah. Every one 
of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke 
and John, says that John the Baptist was sent 
to prepare the way of the Lord. 

We are not left to their testimony alone, 
though it ought to be sufficient of itself, to any 
honest minded man; but we have the testimony 
of Josephus, a Jewish historian, who lived near 
that time, and was well acquainted with the 



64 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

facts in the case ; and lie, though not a fol- 
lower of the Lord Jesus at all, testifies to the 
following : 

Josephus Antiq., b. 18, ch. 5, § 2 : "Now 
some of the Jews thought that the destruction 
of Herod's army (in the battle with Aretas, 
king of Arabia,) came from God ; and that very 
justly, as a punishment of what he did against 
John, who was called the Baptist : for he slew 
him, who was a good man and commanded the 
Jews to exercise virtue ; both as to righteous- 
ness towards one another, and piety towards 
God, and so come to baptism. For that the 
washing in water would be acceptable to Him, 
if they made use of it, not in order to putting 
away or the remission of some sins only, but 
for the purification of the body; supposing still 
the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by 
righteousness. Now when many came in 
crowds around him . . . Herod . . . thought 
it best by putting him to death, to prevent any 
mischief he might cause : accordingly he was 
sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious tem- 
per, to Machaerus, the castle 1 before men- 
tioned ; and there was put to death." This is 
the testimony of one who was an enemy of the 
Lord Jesus, or at least, not a follower of his, 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 65 

and he can not therefore be accused of being 
prejudiced in his favor. 

Jesus joins his testimony that John was his 
forerunner. Mark 9:13. 

When Jesus himself was asked about the 
coming of Elijah, in the passage last quoted, as 
well as in Matt. 17:12,13, He said: "But I say 
unto you, That Elias is come already, and they 
knew him not, but have done unto him what- 
soever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son 
of man suffer of them. Then the disciples un- 
derstood that he spake unto them of John the 
Baptist." Here we have the combined testi- 
mony of both John and Jesus that John was 
the forerunner who was to come before the 
Messiah should appear in the world. If this 
claim of John the Baptist has ever been dis- 
puted that he was not the forerunner of the 
Messiah, it has not been my privilege to see or 
hear of it. Is there any more testimony needed 
to establish the fact that John the Baptist 
preacher of the desert was the forerunner of 
the Messiah prophesied of by the prophets? 
"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall 
every word be established," II. Cor. 13:1. But 
we have the double of the two witnesses. A 
man was put to death by two witnesses, accord- 



66 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

ing to the law, as we may find in Deut. 17:6 r 
and any of our courts of criminal law will, with 
the concurrent testimony of two witnesses, put 
a man to death now, if his crime so merit. 
Why not then rest assured that it is fully estab- 
lished that John the Baptist preacher of the 
desert was the forerunner of the Messiah ? 

Let us remember, however, that although the 
evidence of John's being the forerunner of the 
Messiah is so clear, and so conclusive, that it 
seems useless to attempt to deny it for a 
moment, yet when we acknowledge that he was 
such forerunner, we also must acknowledge 
that Jesus was the Messiah; for John never 
witness to any one whatever as being the Mes- 
siah, except to Jesus. John's office being 
established, then the claims of Jesus are just as 
surely established; for he said that Jesus was 
the "lamb of God that taketh away the sins of 
the world," John 1:29; and his whole life was 
given to nothing, absolutely nothing else than 
to testify that Jesus the Nazarene was the 
promised Messiah. John the Baptist was the 
forerunner of both the Messiah and Jesus; then 
Jesus is the promised Messiah, and the object 
of this book has been accomplished; but we 
have so much more proof and just as unanswer- 
able as the above. Notice next, 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 6T 

2. MESSIAH TO BE A PREACHER OF THE 
GOSPEL. 

One of the strongest characteristics of the 
coming Messiah was that He would be a 
preacher of the Gospel, or "Good News," as 
the word means. When He should come, what 
other men had tried to learn, He would teach. 
The peace that other men sought after, He 
would give to his followers. The class that 
other wise men ignored He would preach the 
Gospel to, and elevate them, and the down- 
trodden whom other teachers neglected, He 
would exalt to become the "Sons of God." 
And strangest of all (strange then), the bitterest 
enemies God had on earth would have the 
Gospel preached to them, and from them would 
the kingdom, which He came to establish, be 
made. Paul is a good example of this kind, 
and many thousands of others like him. 

Notice some of the peculiarities of Messiah's 
preaching. Isaiah 61:1,2, tells us the follow- 
ing beautiful description of the preaching of the 
coming Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord God 
is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed*" 

*The same word that is here translated "Anointed," the Hebrew 
word, "mashakh," is the same word from which the name "Mes- 
siah" is derived. The Hebrew form of Messiah is " Mashieah," and 
means "The Anointed;" as does the Greek translation, " Kristos," 
from which comes our word, "Christ." Jesus then is the Anointed 
One of God, He being the Messiah. 



•68 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he 
hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to 
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the open- 
ing of the prison to them that are bound; To 
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and 
the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort 
all that mourn." 

Such was the important duty of Him who 
was to be the Lord's Anointed. Hope may arise 
now to those who were bound down in sin, and 
to those who are captives of lust and iniquity. 

Whenever this Messiah shall come to this 
sin-cursed world, then may there be rejoicing, 
such as had never been seen since Adam first 
walked the forbidden paths of sin. 

Messiah should be a preacher of "good tid- 
ings"* to the world. How did Jesus fulfill 
this prophecy? Let us see. 

One day, Jesus came to Nazareth, he went 
to church "as was his custom," and this being 
his old home, where he had been brought up, 
•everybody knew him, according to the flesh, 
but not according to his real nature ; and that 
•day, they called upon him to talk to the people. 

^Apropos to this point, i.e., that Messiah should be a preacher of 
the Gospel, is the observation that the word here translated, " To 
preach good tidings," is the word (Hebrew Basar, but here the Piel 
is used Bassare) which the LXX. uses in the Old Testament, the 
•Greek word, "euaggelisasthai," aor. inf., meaning to preach the 
Gospel. 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 6& 

The minister handed him the roll of the proph- 
ets, and Jesus found the place (Isa. 61:1) where 
it is written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon 
me ; " and he began to read, and a strange fas- 
cination seized the people, why, they knew not, 
but they were spellbound, as it were, as he 
read the passage. What drew them to him? 
They had read and heard it read no doubt, often 
before. It could not be the newness of the 
passage that held them ; but yet the "eyes of 
all of them that were in the synagogue were 
fastened upon him," as he began to tell them, 
"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your 
ears," and so completely taken were they that 
"all bare him witness, and wondered at the 
gracious words which proceeded out of his 
mouth." Luke 4:16-22. Listen to him! 

"Because he hath anointed me to preach 
the gospel to the poor;" and so he read the 
whole passage, and handed the roll back to the 
minister, and sat down (the way speakers 
usually addressed the people in those days), 
and astounded everybody by telling them that 
"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your 
ears." Oh! will not the people make the wel- 
kin ring with their joyous shouts of ecstasy 
that the long expected One has come at last? 



70 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

He whom the world has been needing so much 
and so long, will they not give him a great and 
glorious welcome ? But no ; if they do, it will 
not be in accord with the way Messiah was 
to be treated. (See Sec. 6, this chap, below.) 
He was to be "despised and rejected of men," 
.and so verses 28, 29, Luke 4, tells the result. 

"And all they in the synagogue . . . rose 
up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him 
unto the brow of the hill whereon their city 
was built, that they might cast him down head- 
long. '' Yea, surely, he is "despised and re- 
jected of men." 

Jesus himself refers to these prophecies, as 
proof of what and who he is, when John sent 
to him to know. Matt. 11:5,6: "If he (Jesus) 
was the One that was to come, or look we for 
another?" And the answer that Jesus sent 
back is well worthy of our careful consider- 
ation. He did not answer John and say, 
" Yes, I am the Messiah that was to come into 
the world;" but he referred him to the proph- 
ecies that were spoken about Messiah, just as 
he no doubt would do to-day, if he were asked 
the same question. When John Baptist asked 
him, Jesus sent word to him, "The blind re- 
ceive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 71 

cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, 
and the poor have the gospel preached to them." 
As much as to say to John, "The blind see, 
just as it was foretold that they would, when 
Messiah came ; the lame walk, just as it was 
prophesied that they would when Messiah came; 
the lepers are cleansed, just as it was predicted 
that they would be when Messiah should come ; 
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the 
poor have the gospel preached to them, just as 
it was foretold that it would be, when Messiah 
should come ; therefore John, if I do the very 
things that Messiah was to do, can it be possi- 
ble that you or any one else can fail to see and 
know that I must be the Messiah ? " Such logic 
is irresistible and unanswerable. 

3. TO BE A GREAT LIGHT. 

Isaiah, in 49:6, tells us that the Messiah is 
to be a Great Light to the Gentiles. Notice 
how it reads : 

"I will also give thee for a light to the Gen- 
tiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto 
the end of the earth." And so Isa. 9:2: "The 
people that sat in darkness have seen a great 
Light ; they that dwell in the land of the 
shadow of death, upon them hath the Light 



72 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

shined." And so again, Isa. 42:6: "I the Lord 
have called thee in righteousness and will hold 
thy hand, and will keep thee for a covenant of 
the people, for a Light of the Gentiles." 

Says John 1:7,8: "The same (John the Bap- 
tist) came for a witness, to bear witness of the 
Light . . . that was the true Light." And 
again, John 4:14-16: "That it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, 
saying, The land of Zebulon, and the land of 
Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond 
Jordon, Gallilee of the Gentiles ; the people 
which sat in darkness saw a great Light, and 
to them which sat in the region and shadow of 
death, Light is sprung up." Thus do we see 
that Jesus fulfilled this very prophecy, as the 
Gospel writers say he did. He is indeed "the 
Light that lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world," as John says, 1:9. 

4. MESSIAH TO BE A HEALER OF THE 
AFFLICTED. 

Yery clear and pointed are the passages 
which say that Messiah will be a great Healer. 
It is said in many places. Isa. 29:18,19: "And 
in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the 
book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 73 

obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek 
shall also increase their joy in the Lord, and 
the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy 
One of Israel." But even plainer is the pas- 
sage found in Isa. 35:5,6: "Then the eyes of 
the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the 
deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame 
man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb 
sing : for in the wilderness shall waters break 
out, and streams in the desert." 

If the one who shall claim to be the Messiah 
can not and does not heal the afflicted, He can 
not lay any tenable claim to his being the Mes- 
siah ; for certainly Messiah will be a Great 
Healer. Isa. 42:7 brings out the same thought. 
Turning to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
what do we find ? Much of his life was spent 
in healing the sick, curing the blind and bene- 
fitting the afflicted, as it was prophesied Mes- 
siah would do. Repeating again the words 
He Himself sent to the discouraged John in 
prison, "The blind receive their sight, the lame 
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, 
the dead are raised up, and the poor have the 
gospel preached to them." We see, at a glance 
that the Lord Jesus was willing to have His 
work compared with the work Messiah was 



74 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

to do, and adding no comment Himself, but let 
John, and the rest of the world judge Him and 
His work by the way it compared with what 
prophecy said would be the work of Messiah. 
"Who could have acted more fairly? Such a 
wonderful Healer was Jesus that we read in 
Matt. 14:36, that they "besought him that they 
might only touch the hem of his garment: and 
as many as touched were made perfectly 
whole." 

Jesus was ever ready to stand upon the 
merits of His own works, and be judged by 
them. As a further evidence that Jesus did 
what Messiah was to do, we have but to look at 
the many other cures which He did. Matt. 9, 
the healing of the two blind men; also a dumb 
demoniac; Mark 7, a deaf and dumb man 
healed; Luke 7, He heals the centurion's serv- 
ant, and raises the son of the widow; John 5, 
gives sight to a man born blind; John 11, raises 
Lazareth from the dead, with numerous other 
miraculous healings during His wonderful life. 
Can it be expected that Messiah would or could 
<io any more than Jesus did ! Let us add one 
more testimony from Isa. 53:4, which says that 
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried 
•our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 75 

smitten of God, and afflicted." And we find 
same passage referred to in Matt. 8:17, thus: 
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took 
our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." 

Does not Jesus fulfill the prophecies about 
Messiah in this respect ? 

5. TO TRIUMPHANTLY ENTER THE JEWISH 
CAPITAL. 

Says Zech. 9:9: "Eejoice greatly, O daughter 
of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: be- 
hold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, 
and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon 
an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

Matthew 21:8, when giving a careful descrip- 
tion of Jesus' last visit to Jerusalem, tells us 
that when He came near the city, He sent two 
of His disciples to get the colt, etc., and that 
He came into Jerusalem with a great throng 
following Him, and they cried out, "Hosanna 
to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the 
highest." Mark tells us the same story in 
11:1-11, and Luke repeats it in 19:28-40, and 
adds that "Some of the Pharisees from among 
the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke 



76 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

thy disciples. And He answered and said unto 
them, I tell you that, if these should hold their 
peace, the stones would immediately cry out." 
Matt. 21:4,5, adds: "All this was done, that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the 
prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, 
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and 
sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an 
ass." 

Does not this triumphal entry of Jesus com- 
pletely fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah about 
the coming of Messiah into Jerusalem? We 
leave the honest minded reader to give the ver- 
dict. As we draw closer to the consummation 
of Messiah's life, we find that the prophecies 
are both more numerous, as well as more ex- 
plicit. 

6. MESSIAH WILL BE REJECTED. 

It is sad that humanity has fallen so low in 
sin that this point has to be inserted; but such 
is the fact, and it became a subject of prophecy 
many years before it was fulfilled. Of all the 
welcome visitors who could come into this sin- 
cursed world, certainly it would seem that 
Messiah, the One sent from God to deliver the 
people from their sins, would be the most wel- 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 77 

come of all; yet away back in the history of 
the world, more than seven hundred years be- 
fore the day for Him to appear, it was told by 
God, through His holy prophets, that when 
His redeemer should come to do the people 
good, to give them "new hearts," and to 
"write the law of God in their hearts," that, 
instead of welcoming Him with the greatest 
possible joy, the world would actually "reject" 
Him, and turn from Him in bitterness of heart 
and enmity towards Him ! Oh ! the depravity 
of a heart full of sin ! ! 

Let us examine the passages, strange as it 
may sound, which refer to His rejection, and 
learn as well, how He was despitef ully treated. 

Isa. 53:3, says: "He is despised and re- 
jected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted 
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from 
him; he was despised, and we esteemed him 
not." 

Does it seem possible that such a prophecy 
could ever have a fulfillment? That the very 
One, who coming to do us good, should re- 
ceive such a reception from any people, and 
especially, from those whom He came to help ? 
Does it seem possible that any people could be 
so sinful, and so forgetful of their own best 



78 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

interests, to say nothing of ingratitude, as to 
reject and despise the very best of all friends? 
The only business this great Messenger and 
Eepresentative from the court of high heaven 
had in the world, was to "seek and to save the 
lost." Then can it be true that these very lost 
ones, for whom alone He came, can turn their 
backs upon Him, malign, maltreat, scourge, 
persecute, despise and murder Him, who came 
because He loved them so much ? Oh ! the 
miserable sinfulness of lost and depraved hu- 
manity ! Shall we not blush with shame and 
trickling tears of repentance, when we examine 
and learn that He was so treated ? 

Have we not rejected Him in the past, or it 
may be that some reader is now rejecting Him 
in his heart. How can you do so? Let us 
examine and see how He was "despised*' and 
"rejected" of men. 

Isa. 49:7, says again: "Thus saith the Lord, 
the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to 
him whom man despiseth, to him whom the 
nation abhorreth." But a superficial examina- 
tion of the facts show us that Jesus was "de- 
spised and rejected" of the men in His day, 
and in fact, He is "despised and rejected" of 
men, in this our day and age. When He was 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 79 

brought before Pilate, how was He treated? 
Matt. 27:22,23: " Pilate said unto them, What 
shall I do then with Jesus which is called 
Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be 
crucified. And the governor said, Why, what 
evil hath he done ? But they cried out the more, 
saying, Let him be crucified." And so we find 
the same story from the pen of Mark 15:13,14: 
u And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then 
Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he 
done? And they cried the more exceedingly. 
Crucify him." 

Without quoting all that is said on this sub- 
ject by each of the four gospel writers, we 
notice that Luke 23:18,23, and John 19:6,15, 
both tell the same story of the bitter hatred 
and rejection that Jesus received at the hands 
of the multitude. 

Certainly no further evidence is needed to 
prove that Jesus was "despised and rejected" 
of men. John tells us in 1:11: "He came unto 
his own, and his own received him not." We 
can rest assured that he was "despised and re- 
jected" of men, as the prophets said Messiah 
would be. 

One thing let us do, in the study of this sub- 
ject of Jesus being the Messiah of Jewish 



80 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

prophecy, that is, be honest enough with the 
subject and with ourselves to acknowledge 
that a point has been made when it is made, 
and never try, in the least, to evade the just 
conclusion. 



CHAPTER VI. 
ESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



I I J E now approach one of the most solemn 
parts of the Messiah's entire life; and 
very minute and plentiful are the prophecies 
now of the arrest and the death of the Messiah, 
and this is quite proper indeed; for if He had 
to bear the iniquity of the world ; if He is to 
make atonement for our sins ; if He is to be 
our substitute and Redeemer, how all-important 
it is for us to have definite data from which 
we may identify him, when he arrives in the 
world ; and how particular we should be to 
know all the facts as to his death for us. 
While we thank God for the pure and un- 
blemished life he lived, yet that pure life in 
and of itself never could have saved a single 
soul from perdition ! I bless Grod with great 
gratitude in my heart, for the holy teachings 
that Jesus revealed to the world : but these 
holy teachings in and of themselves alone 
never could have saved a single sinner ; it is 



82 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

also a matter of great gratitude that be was- 
able to heal the sick, give eyes to the blind, 
raise the dead, and all the other miraculous- 
deeds which he did ; but these and all these 
above named could never raise a single sinner 
from the curse of the law. Up to this point we 
have not yet found anything in the life of either 
the Messiah, or the life of Jesus, that is able 
to save sinners; we must look further into the 
life or death for that which saves sinners. 
Had Jesus lived the life he did live, taught 
as he did teach, work wonders as he did work 
them, and yet had gone back to heaven from 
Bethany, and had not gone by Calvary, God 
could never have opened heaven's gates nor 
bid welcome to a single one of earth's lost 
sinners ! O dear soul, remember that it was 
Calvary where Jesus did his work that saved 
sinners. O thou preacher of the gospel and 
worker for lost souls, if you omit Calvary 
from your sermons and work you have also left 
out salvation. Say as many pretty things 
about Jesus and his matchless life as your vo- 
cabulary may afford ; paint him in all the fer- 
vent oratory and beauty that words are possibly 
capable of conveying ; extol his wondrous life 
to the very limit to human exaltation ; but in 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. ■ 83" 

all this, if you leave Calvary out, you have but 
preached a christless Christ. Think of it, if 
you can, a crossless Christ ! That is what 
preaching means which leaves out Calvary. 
Dear soul, you can not know what sin really 
is, till you come to Calvary ; nor can you ap- 
preciate God's justice till you stand close by 
Calvary; nor can you know the "peace of 
God, which passeth understanding," till you 
have knelt low at Calvary. The gospel with- 
out Calvary is worthless ; it is salt that has lost 
its savor, good for nothing. The road to hea- 
ven always leads right close by Calvary, and 
when you get out of that road, you are lost I 
Calvary's cross is the sinner's best friend, and 
none need ever hope for heaven who has not 
passed that way. It is said that "All roads 
lead to Rome." Yes, and all heavenly roads 
lead to Calvary. No wonder then, that God's 
prophets said so much about the death and suf- 
ferings of Messiah, when so much depends 
upon it. If the death of some one is to be the 
only hope you have for time and for eternity, 
how anxious you should be to know who that 
personage is, having the most definite particu- 
lars as to his identity, as well as what he will 
do for you. 



84 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

God, seeing that just such a desire would be 
natural, has given us very accurate data from 
which to judge, and also to know the Messiah ; 
and there are, therefore, more prophecies about 
his death than any other point in his entire life. 

Jesus may have been ever so good a man, 
and he may fulfill every prophecy up to this 
point ; but if he fails here, he has failed al- 
together ; for this is the pivotal point around 
which all others revolve. 

It is strange the way this point has been 
guarded and fortified, by the prophets of God. 
This truth of itself is sufficient to force convic- 
tion on any inquiring mind, that the hand of 
God must have been in it all ; for the prophets 
of themselves would never have known that it 
is of so much importance to fortify so carefully 
this point in the life of Messiah, if they had 
been left to themselves ; God told them what 
to write. 

1. THE BETRAYAL. 

The prophets are careful to tell us that Mes- 
siah should not be captured, but that he would 
be betrayed by a friend. They are careful to 
tell us the position of the one who should be- 
tray him. 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 85 
(1.) THE BETRAYER. 

The prophets foretold very distinctly that it 
would be no stranger who should betray Mes- 
siah into the hands of his enemies, but that it 
would be one very near him. Psa. 41:9: "Yea, 
mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, 
which did eat my bread, hath lifted up his 
heel against me." 

The betrayer of Messiah was to be one who 
was a friend, and not an enemy. Should it be 
an open enemy, or a stranger who betrays, it 
will fail to fulfill the prophecy. Let us see. 

It would be superfluous to state here that 
Judas betrayed Him, as every child knows 
that ; but we may ask the question, Who was 
Judas \ and what relation did he sustain to the 
Lord Jesus? His position to the Savior is 
almost as well known, as it is known that he 
betrayed Him ; for all know that he was the 
treasurer of the party that went with Jesus, as 
"He went about doing good," throughout all 
the lands of His earthly travels. This we learn 
from John 12:6 and 13:29. Externally a friend, 
though internally a thief, he had been with the 
company that went with Jesus, ever since a few 
days before the delivery of the great sermon on 



86 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

the mount, which was delivered during the 
very early ministry of the Lord Jesus in Gali- 
lee, as is recorded in both Mark 3:13-19, and 
Luke 6:12-1@. Judas was among the very first 
of the disciples and was also an apostle, chosen 
with the rest of the twelve, and at the same 
time. See Matt. 10:1-4 ; Mark 3:13-19 ; Luke 
6:13-16. 

John 13:26,30, tells us that Jesus answered : 
"He it is, to whom I shall give a sop (or mor- 
sel), when I have dipped it. And when he had 
dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, 
the son of Simon. He then, having received 
the sop, went immediately out." 

So also Matthew tells us the same story of 
the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and that he did 
it with a sign of a kiss, as we read in Matt. 
26:47f. So also John again speaks of him, 
18:2,3. 

Judas was the "familiar friend," who knew 
where Jesus was accustomed to go, and when 
He went. It was also he that was the "one 
that was trusted" with all the money of the 
entire party; and was also he that did "eat 
bread," as he received the sop from the hand 
of the Lord, as well as being one that was 
always with the Lord, and did eat of the bread 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 87 

that was the food of the party, and no doubt, 
ate many times of the food provided by the 
hands of the Lord, when the five thousand were 
fed, as well as the four thousand, and on 
numerous other occasions ; eating with the Lord 
all the time, till he betrayed Him. Complete 
fulfillment is seen here. 

(2.) THE PRICE PAID. 

It may seem but a very small thing that the 
price which was to be paid for the delivering up 
of the Messiah should be a matter of prophecy, 
as well as the very kind of money to be used, 
and all this foretold centuries before the thing 
was to take place ; but notice that both the 
amount and kind are foretold near seven hun- 
dred years before its fulfillment. Zechariah 
11:12,13 : "And I said unto them, If ye think 
good, give me my price ; and if not, forbear. 
So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of 
silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it 
unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized 
at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of 
silver, and cast them to the potter in the house 
of the Lord." We shall see how the treatment 
of Jesus corresponded with this strangely min- 
ute prophecy. 



88 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Matt. 26:15: "And said (Judas) unto them 
What will ye give me, and I will deliver him 
unto you ? And they covenanted with him for 
thirty pieces of silver." 

( 3.) WHAT WAS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRICE PAID. 

It might seem even a smaller thing to tell 
what a dishonorable man would do with the 
money he had obtained by fraud ; but it is not 
so much to follow up what he would do with it, 
as it is to show, very minutely, what was to be 
done, in every particular, concerning the Great 
Messiah; to point out all the minutia so clearly 
that you and I may know who this Great Mes- 
siah is. So we learn that prophecy tells us as 
carefully what shall be done with the price, as 
it tells us what the price is to be. Zech. 11:13, 
says that he was to "cast them to the potter in 
the house of the Lord." Turn with me to Mat- 
thew 27:3-10, and learn what Judas did with 
the price paid him for Jesus. "Then Judas, 
which had betrayed him, when he saw that he 
was condemned, repented himself,* and brought 

*The word here translated "Repented " is not the regular word 
used when referring to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. This 
word is the word in Greek, " Metamelomai," which means, " To have 
remorse," while the word used for repentance towards God, and is 
connected with faith, is " Metanoaoo," and a good short distinction 
of the two is that the first means simply " remorse," while the latter 
grieves for the intrinsic wrong itself. 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 89 

the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests 
and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have 
betrayed innocent blood. And he cast down 
the pieces of silver in the temple, and went and 
hanged himself." 

Let us notice four things that are very mi- 
nutely and carefully stated : (a) The number of 
pieces, thirty, (b) The kind of money, silver. 
(c) What shall be done with it, "Buy the pot- 
ter's field." (d) Where it should be appropri- 
ated to this purpose, "In the Lord's house, the 
temple." The passage quoted above, Matt. 
27:3-10, tells us that all these things were done 
just as it was prophesied of Messiah, and all 
were done unto Jesus. 

Dear candid reader, does not Jesus here com- 
pletely fulfill the prophecy ? Leaving it to your 
honesty, we pass to 

(•4.) THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN; THE SHEEP SCATTERED. 

Zechariah again speaks to us, 13:7, and says 
concerning the effect of Jesus' being arrested : 
"Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and 
against the man that is my fellow, saith the 
Lord of hosts : smite the Shepherd, and the 
sheep shall be scattered." 

Quite completely is this prophecy fulfilled in 



90 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Jesus, and be said it was so fulfilled, in Matt. 
26:31: "Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye 
shall be offended because of me this night : for 
it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the 
sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." 
And Mark testifies to the same fact in 14:27. 
It is a fact that when Jesus was taken, the dis- 
ciples were scattered. Is not Jesus the "smit- 
ten Shepherd," and His disciples the "scat- 
tered sheep? " 

2. THE FALSE WITNESSES. 

These false witnesses who would appear 
against the Messiah were not left unmentioned. 
David wrote concerning them more than a 
thousand years before they testified their false- 
hoods against the Messiah. Says David, Fsa. 
27:12: "Deliver me not over unto the will of 
mine enemies : for false witnesses are risen up 
against me, and such as breathe out cruelty." 

So also the same writer mentioned this fact 
in Psa. 35:11, thus: "False witnesses did rise 
up; they laid to my charge things that I knew 
not." It would be superfluous to the Bible 
reader to say that such was the case with the 
Lord Jesus. We read this fact in Matt. 
36:59-61, as follows: "Now the chief priests, 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 91 

and elders, and all the council, sought false 
witnesses against Jesus, to put him to death ; 
But found none : yea, though many false wit- 
nesses came, yet found they none. At the last 
came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow 
said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, 
and to build it in three days." Jesus never 
made such a statement. 

The complete fulfillment here is too striking 
not to be seen by the dullest mind, if not biased 
by prejudice. We humbly trust that there are 
none of that kind. Even if Jesus had said 
what they said He did, what was there in it to 
condemn a man to death ? 

3. TREATMENT AT THE CROSS. 

We now come to a class of prophecies, which 
for care in statement, minuteness of description 
and vividness of the pictures, are equalled by 
nothing, except the completeness of fulfillment, 
which we find that the Lord Jesus did. 

There are seventeen different and distinct 
prophecies as to the treatment of Messiah, 
when He comes to the cross. Let us be per- 
fectly honest with these prophecies and with 
ourselves, and learn the truth, and all the 
truth, about them. Kemember that they tell 



92 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

both what He himself will do, as well as what 
others will to do Him. It would be a compara- 
tively easy thing to do, to fulfill partly the 
prophecies that Messiah was to do Himself; 
but how an impostor could succeed in getting 
His enemies to do the very things that are fore- 
told they would do, we leave to the ingenuity 
of any one who is so foolish as to suppose 
that Jesus could have gotten them to do so. 
Let us examine the prophecies themselves. 

(1.) WHAT MESSIAH HIMSELF WILL DO. 

Prophecy tells us very clearly what Messiah 
will do, and for perspicuity, we arrange them 
in the following order: 

CL HE WILL SUFFER FOR OTHERS. 

Says Isa. 53:4: "Surely he hath borne our 
griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we did 
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and 
afflicted." So again in the same chapter, v. 5 : 
"He was wounded for our transgressions; he 
was bruised for our iniquities : the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed." So again the same 
thought in verse 12 : "And he bare the sin of 
many." Certainly if these prophecies mean 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 93 

anything, they mean that Messiah should be- 
come the sin bearer for the people, would pay 
the penalty of our sins, or in short, would be- 
come our substitute, our k 'ransom'' for the sins 
we have committed. Did Jesus suffer thus, is 
the question. I. Peter 3:18 : "For Christ also 
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the un- 
just, that he might bring us to God." Also 
says the same writer, 2:21: "Because Christ 
also suffered for us." And v. 24: "Who his 
own self bare our sins in his own body on the 
tree." "What can be plainer than that Jesus 
here is represented as having taken the place 
of the sinner, and that He bore the penalty 
that the sinner would have had to bear, had 
Christ not borne it for him? Then again, 
II. Cor. 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin 
for us, who knew no sin." The very same 
thought is in the passage in I. Cor. 15:3 : "For 
I delivered unto you first of all that which I 
also received, how that Christ died for our sins 
according to the Scriptures." Can words make 
it any plainer that Jesus died for the sins of the 
people? That was what Messiah was to do; and 
that is what Jesus did do. Does he not fulfill 
the prophecies? 



94 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

b. HE WILL INTERCEDE FOR HIS PERSECUTORS. 

In chapter IV., § 2, we noticed that he would 
be very patient under and during His afflic- 
tions ; but here we can learn something more 
of His goodness and mercy during His trials ; 
and we find what Jesus did is in perfect con- 
formity to what Messiah was to do, in the fol- 
lowing passages : 

Psa. 109:4: "For my love they are my ad- 
versaries ; but I give myself unto prayer." We 
find the same thought in Isa. 53:12 : "He bare 
the sin of many, and made intercession for the 
transgressors." As to conformity of the actions 
of Jesus with this prophetic pattern, we have 
but to turn to Luke 23:34, and hear the words 
of Jesus Himself. Listen ! "Father, forgive 
them ; for they know not what they do." Paul 
makes the same point very strong, of Christ 
interceding for the sinner, in Pom. 8:34: "Who 
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, 
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at 
the right hand of God, who also maketh inter- 
cession for us." So the writer of the Hebrews 
asserts the same, Heb. 7:25 : "Wherefore he is 
able to save them to the uttermost, that come 
unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 95 

make intercession for them." So again, we 
find the same doctrine in Heb. 9:2i: "For 
Christ is not entered into the holy places made 
with hands, which are the figures of the true ; 
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the 
presence of God for us." And to close this 
point of Christ being our intercessor and is 
praying for us, we quote I. John 2:1: "And if 
any man sin, we have an advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 

If any one can read these passages referring 
to what Messiah will do, and then those that 
tell what Jesus did do, and fail to see that 
Jesus completely fulfills these Messianic proph- 
ecies, he must be a poor interpreter of Scrip- 
ture. 

C. MESSIAH WILL CRY UNTO GOD. 

Psa. 22:1: "Eli, Eli, lama azavthani,"* "My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 
are the words of the prophet and psalmist 
David ; giving utterance to the forsaken Son of 

*The Hebrew reader will notice that the Savior did not quote the 
exact words of Psa. 22:1, in the Hebrew, as the word there used is 
" Azavthani," and the word the Savior used was " Sabachthani." The 
reason of this is very plain, when we notice a moment. The word 
"Azavthani " is good Hebrew, from " Azav," " To forsake," and when 
used with the accus. of the person, it signifies "To forsake one in 
great need ;" but Jesus spoke in the Aramaic, and used the Aramaic 
word, "Sabachthani " having a very similar, if not an identical mean- 
ing. Mark 15:34, gives the whole sentence in Aramaic, " Eloi,*' etc. 



96 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

God, as He hung helpless upon the cruel cross. 
Deserted of God, as the sinner who is not in 
Christ will be, if he turn not to Jesus. So we 
find it fulfilled in Jesus when Calvary's cross 
suspended Him, as told us by Matt. 27:46 : 
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a 
loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?* 
that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me? " 

The suffering of the cross and all the hoots 
and jeers of the rabble could be borne without 
a word of complaint ; but when He had to en- 
dure the torture of being forsaken of the Father, 
as the unrepentant sinner will have to do, Jesus 
cried out, in the depth of His anguish, under 
the great crushing burden. It was more than 
He could bear in silence ; it will be more than 
you can bear, O unrepentant soul, if you do 
not make thy peace with God through this sin- 
bearing Savior, when thou shalt be forsaken of 
the Righteous God of heaven ! Oh ! wilt thou 
not think and repent in time? 

d. MESSIAH WILL DIE WITH MALEFACTORS. 

We have the testimony of Isaiah on this 
point, 53:12: "And he was numbered with the 
transgressors." Three of the gospel writers 

* See foot note, page 95. 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 9. 

join in telling that Jesus "was numbered with 
the transgressors." Matt. 27:38: "Then were 
there two thieves crucified with him ; one on 
the right hand, and another on the left." To 
the same fact Mark gives his testimony, 
15:27,28: "And with him they crucify two 
thieves. And the Scripture was fulfilled, which 
saith, And he was numbered with the trans- 
gressors." Likewise says Luke 23:33 : "And 
when they came to the place, which is called 
Calvary, there they crucified him, and the 
malefactors, one on the right hand, and the 
other on the left." Certainly there is no fur- 
ther testimony needed to establish the fact that 
Jesus was crucified with the transgressors, in 
the same way that the prophets said Messiah 
should be treated. 

Let us accept facts when we have found them, 
and receive them even if they destroy the foun- 
dations of our dearest hopes and pet theories ; 
for one truth is worth a thousand falsehoods, 
at any time ; we therefore beg you, dear reader, 
for your own good, that you receive the truth 
at any cost of your own feelings or false hope 
you may have been hugging. 

If Jesus did the things Messiah was to do, 
can it be otherwise than that He is that same 



98 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Messiah? May God's Holy Spirit help you to 
see that such is the real case. 

(2.) WHAT OTHERS WILL DO UNTO MESSIAH. 

We now begin a class of passages which tell 
us what others are to do to Messiah ; and very 
minute and very explicit are they indeed. 

Cl. WILL PIERCE HIS HANDS AND FEET. 

The first passage we examine is one from 
David's writings, Psa. 22:16 : "They pierce my 
hands and my feet." This passage is too plain 
to need any comment ; we pass to another in 
which is mentioned much the same thought. 
Zech. 13:6: "And one shall say unto him, 
What are these wounds in thine hands? " 

Let us turn to the words of John and see 
how all these things were fulfilled in Jesus ; 
20:25 : "Except I shall see in his hands the 
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his 
side, I will not believe." Thomas had seen the 
nails driven into those hands, and the spear 
thrust into His side, and he was slow to believe 
that the Master could be alive, after having 
suffered such cruelty; and he was anxious to 
see that he might know to a certainty that Jesus 
was alive again. 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 99 

But hear Jesus when He met Thomas, v. 27, 
"Reach hither thy finger, and behold my 
hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust 
it into my side ; and be not faithless, but be- 
lieving. " 

Even doubting Thomas had seen enough ta 
satisfy the most exacting mind as to the fact 
that Jesus was alive again ; and he cried out r 
"My Lord and my God ! " 

There are yet so many Thomases in the 
world, still demanding that they shall see the 
Savior and thrust their hands into the wounds 
in His side and hands ; the Savior has not suf- 
fered enough yet to satisfy the slow minds to 
believe, when the believing is for their benefit, 
and not for His good. 

Further proof that the Savior had His hands 
and His feet pierced, certainly is not neces- 
sary; let us notice, in the next place, that 

5. THEY WILL GIVE HIM VINEGAR TO DRINK. 

Says Psa. 69:21 : "They gave me also gall 
for my meat ; and in my thirst they gave me 
vinegar to drink." He, who created all things, 
and by whom all things exist, when He wanted 
water, in His burning thirst, received naught 
but the biting vinegar ! Thus does sinful hu- 
manity treat its loving God ! 



100 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Matt. 27:34: "They gave him vinegar to 
drink mingled with gall : and when He had 
tasted thereof, He would not drink." Luke 
23:36: "And the soldiers also mocked him, 
coming to him, and offering him vinegar." 
And so John also speaks the same, 19:29: 
"Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: 
and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put 
it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth." 

We have still more evidence that Jesus was 
treated as the prophets foretold they would 
treat the Messiah. 

C. THEY WILL DIVIDE HIS GARMENTS *. CAST LOTS 
FOR HIS COAT. 

Does it seem a small thing to tell what will 
be done with the remaining clothing of a man 
that has been crucified with all the disgrace 
that a Roman government could attach to the 
crucifixion, and that the dying man could en- 
dure ? But there is nothing too small for God 
to tell about His well-beloved Son, and here we 
find the words from the prophet a thousand 
years before it took place what would be done 
in this regard to the Messiah. See how min- 
utely the prophet tells what shall be done ! 

Psa. 22:18 : "They part my garments among 
them, and cast lots for my vesture." What was 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 101 

done with the clothes of Jesus? John 19:23,24:: 
"Then the soldiers, when they had crucified 
Jesus, took his garments, made four parts, to 
every soldier a part ; and also His coat : now 
the coat was without seam, .... Let us not 
rend it, but cast lots for it, whose shall it be : 
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which 
saith, They parted my raiment among them, 
and for my vesture did they cast lots. These 
things therefore the soldiers did." 

The soldiers were entirely ignorant of these 
prophecies ; they were Roman soldiers and not 
acquainted with the Jewish prophecies. Yet 
the Omniscient God had spoken, saying that 
"these things" would occur. And now we see 
that the prophecy was completely fulfilled as 
He had said of His Son, that you and I may 
know Him, when He comes into the world. 
The next point is one that is quite peculiar in- 
deed. 

d. THEY WERE TO BREAK NO BONES, BUT 
PIERCE HIM. 

This strange prophecy has a stranger sequel. 
Messiah was to be the true passover Lamb to 
which all the Old Testament lambs pointed : 
so in keeping with the law that no bone of a 
passover lamb should be broken ; let us see 
what was done to Jesus. 



102 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Exodus 12:46: ''Neither shall ye break a 
bone thereof" (i. e., of the passover lamb), 
and so, many other passages in the Old Testa- 
ment. Then see the prophecy about Messiah. 
Fsa. 34:20: "He keepeth all his bones: not 
one of them is broken." See how this was ful- 
filled in the case of Jesus. John 19:32-37: 
"Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of 
the first, and of the other which was crucified 
with him : but when they came to Jesus, and 
saw that he was dead already, they brake not 
his legs." And says v. 36 : "For these things 
were done, that the Scripture should be ful- 
filled, A bone of him shall not be broken." 
But notice again as to what followed. Zech. 
12:10, says: "And they shall look upon me 
whom they have pierced." And we read in 
Rev. 1:7: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; 
and every eye shall see him, and they also which 
pierced him." Now turn to John 19:34 and 37: 
"But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced 
his side, and forthwith came there out blood 
and water." v. 37: "And again another Scrip- 
ture saith, They shall look on him whom they 
pierced." 

Wonderful is the complete fulfillment of 
prophecy here in the case of Jesus ; how could 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 103 

anything be more perfectly fulfilled than Jesus 
fulfills this prophecy? 

One says that he shall be pierced, and the 
others say that he shall have no bones broken. 
But the order of the Eoman officer, Pilate, was 
exactly opposite to this prophecy. His order 
was to break the bones, and there was no order 
from him to the effect that he should be pierced. 
Pilate and God are in conflict with their proph- 
ecies and orders ; and yet the prophecies of God 
are fulfilled to the letter, and the orders of 
Pilate, the Eoman officer, was altogether dis- 
obeyed. They brake no bones, but they pierced 
him, as God's prophets said they would do. 
Strange fulfillment ! ! 

e. THEY WILL DERIDE HIM. 

Psa. 22:7,8: "All they that see me laugh 
me to scorn : they shoot out the lip, they shake 
the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that 
he would deliver him : let him deliver him, 
seeing he delighted in him." 

When Jesus hung upon the cross, notice how 
this was fulfilled. Matt. 27:39-44: "And they 
that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 
and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, 
and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If 



104 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

thou be the Son of God, come down from the 
cross. Likewise also the chief priests, mock- 
ing him, with the scribes and elders, said, He 
saved others ; himself he can not save. If he 
be the King of Israel, let him now come down 
from the cross, and we will believe him. He 
trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he 
will have him : for he said, I am the Son of 
God." 

Can you conceive of a more complete fulfill- 
ment of a prophecy than we find here, per- 
formed by his enemies? Their reviling and 
deriding was severe as it was prophesied, and 
done in the same way it was said it would be. 
Who can find an excuse to reject such clear 
testimony, and say he believes that Jesus was 
not the very one about whom this prophecy 
was spoken ? We leave the doubter to answer. 

/. THEY WILL BURY HIM WITH THE RICH. 

We will close this chapter by calling atten- 
tion to the fact that God's prophets said they 
would bury him with the rich. While we 
might mention still other points, but they are 
not quite so clear and positive as the others 
which we have examined, we will close with 
this one. We want to claim nothing that can 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 105 

not be fully established ; the last point is, then, 
they will bury him with the rich. 

Notwithstanding the maltreatment he was 
to receive while He was alive, yet His body 
should have decent and respectful burial. 
Isaiah, the great Messianic prophet, tells us of 
this. Isa. 53:9: "And he made his grave with 
the wicked, and with the rich in his death." 
Matthew tells us of the fulfillment of this proph- 
ecy in the case of Jesus. Matt. 27:57-60: 
"When the even was come there came a rich 
man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also 
himself was Jesus' disciple : He went to Pilate, 
and begged the body of Jesus. Then Filate 
commanded the body to be delivered. And 
when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped 
it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own 
new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: 
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the 
sepulchre, and departed." 

How an impostor could have had this done 
to his dead body, the very thing that prophecy 
said would be done to the body of the dead 
Messiah, we can not see, but will leave that to 
be answered by those who may doubt, if there 
can be any such. 

The prophets had foretold, years and years 



106 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

before Jesus came into the world, that Messiah 
would be treated in the way we have noticed 
in the last six points (from a to f), and we 
have seen that Jesus was treated in the iden- 
tical manner which they had foretold; not only 
telling what Messiah Himself would do, but 
also what others would do unto Him; so that 
it is sheer folly to attempt to deny that they 
did fulfill, completely, the prophecies about 
Messiah. 



CHAPTER VII. 
MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. 



1 1 ZhILE the larger number of prophecies are 
found relating to the death of Messiah, 
yet we have additional prophecies as to His 
resurrection from the dead. His death on the 
cross being the crowning work for lost man, 
no wonder that there are so many things fore- 
told concerning this one part of His wonderful 
life; but we have some few clear and pointed 
promises that He shall rise from the dead. 

1. MESSIAH'S RESURRECTION. 

We find David telling us of the resurrection 
of the Messiah, in Psa. 16:10: "For thou wilt 
not leave my soul in hell;* neither wilt thou 
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." The 
numerous evidences that this was true with 

*The word here translated "hell," is not the word for the place of 
torment, but is the word "Sheol," which means the "underworld,'' 
and is equivalent to the Greek word "hades," these two words mean 
the place of departed spirits, with no meaning of torment in them ; 
so the expression means that God will not let Messiah stay in the 
grave. 

107 



108 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Jesus, which are recorded v in the New Testa- 
ment, will not allow us to quote all of them; 
but a sufficient number to prove beyond the 
shadow of a doubt that it is true, let us pro- 
ceed to notice. 

Peter, being filled with the Holy Ghost, 
spoke, on the day of Pentecost, and the whole 
sermon was based upon the fact of the resur- 
rection of the Lord Jesus. Acts 2:24-32, is 
full of this testimony, v. 24: "Whom God 
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of 
death;" and then he refers to the prophecy that 
is quoted above, and says that it applies here 
to the risen Lord. v. 27: "Because thou wilt 
not leave my soul in hell,* neither wilt thou 
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." 
vs. 31,32: "He, seeing this before, spake of 
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not 
left in hell,* neither his flesh did see corrup- 
tion. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof 
we are witnesses." And also in Acts 4:10: 
"Be it known unto you all, .... that by the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye 
crucified, whom God raised from the dead," etc. 
Acts 3:15: "And killed the Prince of life, whom 
God hath raised from the dead, whereof we 

*See foot note, page 107.' 



MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. 109 

are witnesses." And also in Acts 10:40: "Him 
God raised up the third day, and shewed him 
openly." And then we omit thirteen more pas- 
sages in Acts, and the Epistles, but notice a 
few in the Gospels. Matt. 28:6: "He is not 
here: for he is risen." Mark 16:6: "Be not 
affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which 
was crucified: he is not here; he is risen." 
Luke 21:6: "He is not here, but is risen." And 
John 20:11-16, tells the same story, and John 
21:1, says: "After these things Jesus shewed 
himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tibe- 
rias." Certainly there is no more evidence 
needed to establish the fact that Jesus rose from 
the dead, as prophecy said Messiah would rise. 
From that Sunday morning in which He is said 
to have risen, the disciples never doubted that 
it was true; and the whole preaching of all the 
apostles and disciples was based entirely upon 
the fact that they had seen Him alive again, 
after He had- been crucified; and they even 
went joyfully to their death rather than sur- 
render the fact that Jesus had risen from the 
dead. They certainly knew what they asserted; 
for they were willing to give up life and every- 
thing, basing their hopes upon the fact that 
Jesus rose from the dead. 



110 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

2. MESSIAH'S ASCENSION. 

We read of the ascension of the Messiah in 
the Psalms, as we read of His resurrection. It 
was to be a great and joyous event, and the 
children were taught to sing of that day with 
great happiness and triumph, though they may 
not have understood as well then what they 
sang about, as we do now; but their prophets 
had foretold the wonderful event, and here is 
the prophecy. Psa. 68:18: "Thou hast ascended 
on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou 
hast received gifts for men." 

This strange and wonderful event must have 
sounded as a startling announcement, as they 
sang it, year after year, in their devotions; but 
the full meaning was to dawn upon the Israel- 
ites, bye and bye. Notice Mark's account of 
the event. 

Mark 16:19: "So then, after the Lord had 
spoken unto them, he was received up into 
heaven." And says Luke also, 24:51: "And it 
came to pass, while he blessed them, he was 
parted from them, and carried up into heaven." 
And Luke says again, Acts 1:9: "And when he 
had spoken these things, while they beheld, he 
was taken up; and a cloud received him out of 



MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. Ill 

their sight." Paul states the same fact in I. 
Tim. 3:16; and it is referred to and trusted 
throughout the whole of the New Testament. 

Is not Jesus the very One who was to rise 
from the dead, ascend up on high, and be the 
Holy One of God? 

In the entire preaching of the apostles and 
the Christian church since the event occurred, 
this has been the theme for many sermons; the 
hope of all the discouraged; the point of cer- 
tainty about which the preaching has always 
revolved; and the sermons and addresses found 
in the New Testament are meaningless jargon, 
if this fact be omitted. That Jesus rose from 
the dead; that he ascended up on high; that he 
is now, and has been since his ascension, with 
the Father, interceding for the sinner, are facts 
which are so fully brought out in the New 
Testament Scriptures that it is useless to dis- 
cuss them at this point. A crucified, buried 
and risen Savior, who is the Redeemer of lost 
sinners, has been the theme of the orthodox 
Christians since the day Jesus ascended up on 
high. 

This is the hope of the Christian, and has 
been, in all ages since that day. The encour- 
agement to every worker; the inspiration to 



112 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

every missionary of the cross, wherever he may 
be, or has been, since Jesus went to heaven, 
the world over; and it is the life preserver that 
holds up the struggling souls on the stormy 
billows of this uneven life. Paul bases every- 
thing upon this one fact, I. Cor. 15:12-20; but 
he ends the argument with the 20th verse : 
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and 
become the firstfruits of them that slept." And 
Jesus said himself, "Because I live, ye shall 
live also." The sum and substance of the 
whole Christian preaching might be reduced 
down to a very small compass, and that is, 
Jesus died for the lost sinner; was buried; and 
rose again on the third day, according to the 
Scriptures; that He ascended to heaven, and is 
now with the Father, interceding for the sin- 
ner. A crucified, risen, ascended Christ, is the 
full teachings of the New Testament. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HIS KINGDOM TO SPREAD THE WORLD 
OVER. 



/^NE of the most interesting things about the 
Lord Jesus Christ's kingdom is that it 
is to be a 

1. MISSIONARY KINGDOM. 

This could not be understood by the Jews. 
They thought that God was all their own, and 
that no one else could have any of the benefits 
of the religion of their God. It seems to be 
the idea of very many of God's children to this 
day, that they are to enjoy the blessings of the 
religion of Jesus Christ, and let the rest of the 
world go without the Gospel and its blessings, 
just as the Jews wanted to do, in the days of 
the early work of the Apostles. Peter had to 
be driven into it, by the very force of circum- 
stances, before he was at all willing to preach 
the Gospel to the company at the house of 
Cornelius, who was a Gentile. The other apos- 
tles were ready to excommunicate him because 



1U THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

he went and preached the Word to the Gen- 
tiles ; and he had to bring to bear a most un- 
answerable argument before they would hearken 
to his views ; and this was, God had blessed 
the Gentiles in the very same way that He had 
blessed the Jews in the beginning; i.«., that 
God had given to the Gentiles the Holy Spirit 
as He had given Him to the Jews, and "who am 
I to withstand God?" The very same argument 
stands to-day as an unanswerable argument 
for mission work; God does convert the hea- 
then now, as He converts those among Chris- 
tian people; who should withstand God in not 
being a missionary? It was Paul that was try- 
ing to tell God what He ought to do, and that 
he (Paul) knew more about how to run the 
work than God did, Acts 22:17-22. But God 
said to him, "Depart : for I will send thee far 
hence unto the Gentiles. ' ' And the spirit of the 
people may easily be seen who were listening 
to Paul, for the account says, "And they gave 
him audience unto this word, and then lifted 
up their voices, and said, Away with such a 
fellow from the earth : for it is not fit that he 
should live." 

Peter an anti-missionary; Paul an anti-mis- 
sionary; the apostles anti-missionaries; the 



HIS KINGDOM TO SPREAD THE WORLD OVER. 115 

the whole Jewish race anti-missionaries, till 
God had to sweep them off of their feet with 
evidence that it was His will the whole world 
should have the benefit of the blessed Gospel. 
And there are still men and women who claim 
to have enjoyed the blessings of the Gospel, 
who are yet "withstanding God" and refusing 
to send the Word to the dying millions, who- 
have it not. 

There can be no stronger evidence that God 
favors a movement than that He prospers it to 
the end it has been established; and when we 
see that God blesses the work, and converts 
men and women, through the labors of the 
missionaries, "who can withstand Him?" 

Year after year brings the word of the hun- 
dreds and thousands who are converted in the 
heathen lands by the work of the missionaries ; 
I ask, would God help a thing that is wrong % 
Yea, let Peter's question be asked with re- 
doubled force, ' ' Who are you that you should 
withstand God?" 

But let us notice some of the prophecies that 
the kingdom of the Messiah should be a mis- 
sionary kingdom. We notice the first from 
Psa. 72:8: "He shall have dominion also from 
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of 



116 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

the earth." And again from the pen of Zech. 
9:10: "And his dominion shall be from sea 
even to sea, and from the river even to the 
ends of the earth." Some may claim that the 
prophecy of David referred to his own son, 
Solomon; but this can not be the limit of the 
prophecy; for it was never the case with the 
kingdom of Solomon, though he did have an 
extensive kingdom; but the prophecy can not 
refer to Solomon's kingdom, made by Zecha- 
riah, for Solomon had been dead well near^tf 
hundred years when Zechariah wrote his 
prophecy. Zechariah certainly referred to the 
Messiah's kingdom. David also says, Psa. 2:8: 
u Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen 
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
of the earth for thy possession." 

The testimony of the gospel writers says that 
the kingdom of Jesus was to spread over the 
world. Luke 24:47: "And that repentance and 
remission of sins should be preached in his 
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusa- 
lem." This is too clear to need any comments. 
All nations were .to have the benefit of the 
kingdom of Jesus, and were to enjoy the privi- 
leges of salvation, by having it offered to them, 
whether they accept it or not; this Christianity 



HIS KINGDOM TO SPREAD THE WORLD OVER. 117 

should be offered to all, by the God of grace. 
So again, we have the passage from Mark 16:15: 
"And He said unto them, Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture." Oh! the expanse God's religion took, 
when Jesus had come and had made a gospel 
ready for the world's reception ! Till then, it 
had been confined to the nation of the Jews ;. 
but now was the time for the Gentiles to receive 
benefit from the religion of Jesus Christ and 
the God of heaven. Oh ! how the gates of 
heaven swung wide open when Jesus came ! 

2, WORK OF MISSIONS TO BE DONE BY HIS 
FOLLOWERS. 

The prophecies of the Old Testament do not 
make it so plain who shall do the work of 
evangelizing the world, but it tells us clearly 
that all the nations shall have it. 

Isa. 52:10: "All the ends of the earth shall 
see the salvation of our God." Here it is 
pointed that the gospel is to be taken to all 
the world, and that all shall have a chance 
to see the gospel and salvation of the Lord, 
whether they accept it or not. But the New 
Testament tells us plainly who is to carry on 
the work of taking the gospel to every creature 
in the world. 



118 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

Says Jesus, Matt. 28:19: "Go ye (disciples) 
therefore (as he had all power given to him) 
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Spirit.'"' The disciples understood that 
Jesus wanted them to take the Gospel to every 
creature ; for at once, as soon as they were 
scattered abroad from Jerusalem, Acts 8:4: 
"Therefore they that were scattered abroad, 
went every tvhere preaching the Word." 

Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the Jews gen- 
erally, Phillip to the eunuch of Ethiopia, 
Stephen to the people around him, and those 
that were "scattered abroad," went every where, 
telling the sweet story of the cross ; and the 
kingdom was spread to the whole world. 
When the Phillippian church sent some aid to 
Paul, or as we would call it nowadays, had 
done some missionary work, Paul wrote them 
that he rejoiced much over their labor, and 
that he had "received of Epaphroditus the 
things which were sent from you, an odor of 
sweet smell, a sacrifice, well-pleasing to God." 
Phil. 4:18. 

See how God was " well-pleased" with the 
missionary work that the Phillippian church 
had done ; why will he not be pleased with the 



HIS KINGDOM TO SPREAD THE WORLD OYER. 119 

missionary* work that any other church does 
nov:? But as we indicated in the previous 
section, we know that God is a missionary n(no\ 
for he blesses the work that the missionaries 
are doing on the field, the same he blessed the 
work, when Paul and the other missionaries 
were at work; God, saving souls, sending the 
Holy Spirit in His office work. Following the 
missionary, day by day, blessing his labors, 
and bringing men and women to repentance 
and renewing their spirits, as He did in the 
days of the apostles. "Who are you, dear 
reader, to withstand God?" if you for a mo- 
ment say that the w^ork of missions shall not 
be carried on now, as the Lord has commanded 
us to do? 



CHAPTER IX. 
NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 



SOME THINGS WHICH COULD NOT HAVE 
BEEN TRUE OF AN IMPOSTOR. 

IT is sometimes heard from those who do not 
accept Jesus as the Messiah, that they will 
claim He was an impostor, and that He made 
claims to many things that were not His to 
claim. We present the following chapter for 
the very earnest consideration of all such per- 
sons. 

When we begin to look at the unique posi- 
tion which Jesus occupied in the world, it will 
be seen as plainly as day that there are things- 
which could not have been true if He had been 
an impostor. In the very nature of affairs, 
there are some, over which no man can have 
the least possible control, be he ever so wise, 
or careful, or good. We want to look at some 
of those things over which no man can have 
the very least control whatever. 



NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 121 

1. No man can have the least possible con- 
trol over the line of his ancestry, as to what 
line it shall be. Dear reader, you had no more 
control, nor no more to do with the particular 
parentage from whom you were born, than you 
had with the creation of the world ; not a par- 
ticle more. Now the Old Testament scriptures 
said Messiah was to be born of the line of 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and 
David; Jesus was born of this exact line, as 
we have learned. 

2. No one can have aught to do as to where 
he is born. This event in the life of every 
one, has passed long before one is conscious 
of having birth at all ; and there is as little 
possibility of one's having himself born here 
or there, as it is to become self-existent. This 
certainly is as clear as the point above named. 
But prophecy said that Messiah would be born 
in Bethlehem ; Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 
as every one knows and as we have seen in the 
past pages. 

3. A babe can have absolutely nothing to do 
with the time when he is to be born ; but we 
see that the prophets said Messiah should be 
born before the descendants of Judah should 
cease to rule ; Jesus was born at that time. 



122 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

4. The same inability occurs as to who shall 
be the mother of a child, as it does as to who 
shall be in the line of ancestry. Yet we have 
seen that the prophets of God foretold that 
Messiah should be born of a virgin ; it did not 
simply "happen" that Jesus was born of a 
virgin mother*; it was indeed the sign chosen 
by God himself. 

5. Very little indeed, could a babe have to 
do as to whether he should be persecuted or 
not, while a babe ; but the prophets said Mes- 
siah would be persecuted ; Jesus was so per- 
secuted, as we have learned in our study. 

6. A babe can have absolutely nothing to do 
with who comes to see him, while a babe ; yet 
we learned that the Magi were to visit Messiah ; 
they certainly did visit Jesus. 

7. A babe can have nothing to do with be- 
ing driven out of his native land, while yet an 
infant ; but the prophets were very careful to 
tell us that Messiah would be driven out of his 
native land ; Jesus was so driven out of his 
native land. 

8. Neither can a babe have any thing to do 
with the nature he is to be born with ; and yet 
we find that the prophecies tells us that Mes- 
siah should have a two-fold nature, human 



NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 123 

and divine; Jesus certainly bad this two-fold 
nature. 

9. There is a point in the development of 
the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, with which he 
could have had but very little to do, had be 
been an impostor ; and that is, to have another 
man, who up to this point in their lives were 
strangers, come and say certain things about 
him, if they had never met ; but prophecy said 
that there would be a forerunner come before 
Messiah, who would prepare the way, and be- 
gin the work in the wilderness ; Jesus did have 
just such a forerunner, and it appears that they 
had never met till the baptism of Jesus. See 
John 1:31. 

10. No one can have just such a temper as 
they may choose ; but prophecy said that Mes- 
siah would have a very gentle temper ; Jesus 
did have such a temper, as the Bible so repre- 
sents. 

11. No one can simply choose to have just 
such a holiness as will be sure to please God ; 
but the prophets said that when Messiah should 
come, he would have such a holiness, and the 
New Testament tells us that Jesus did have 
that very kind of holiness. 

12. No man can so control other men that 



124 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

they will reject him when he comes among 
them ; but the prophets said that when Messiah 
came, he would be rejected ; Jesus was rejected; 
as they said Messiah would be. 

13. No man, not of God, could possibly do 
miracles such as are ascribed to Messiah ; but 
the prophets foretold that when Messiah came, 
he would do miracles, and very wonderful ones; 
Jesus did perform very wonderful miracles. 

14. What control could any man have over 
the way he was to be betrayed ? yet Scripture 
says that Messiah should be betrayed in a cer- 
tain way; Jesus was betrayed in that very way. 

15. What could any man have to do with the 
very amount and the very kind of money that 
should be given for his betrayal ? yet the 
prophets told beforehand that Messiah would 
be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver ; Jesus 
was betrayed for just that amount and that 
kind of money, silver. 

16. Neither could any man have any thing 
to do with what should be done with the money 
paid for his betrayal ; but prophecy said that 
the money given for the betrayal of Messiah 
would be given to the potter, and that it should 
be done in the house of the Lord ; and this was 
exactly what was done with the money that was 
given for the betrayal of Jesus. 



NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 125 

IT. What could any man do towards getting 
himself "smitten" and his disciples "scat- 
tered"? but the prophets said they would do 
this with Messiah ; they did it precisely with 
Jesus. 

18. A criminal can have naught to do with 
the kind of witnesses that are to be brought 
against him ; but Scripture said that they would 
bring false witnesses against Messiah ; they did 
bring false witnesses against Jesus. 

19. When we come to the cross, there are few 
things that a false christ might have done ; but 
there is the least possibility that he would do 
them. Yet there are many things which no one 
could have had done to himself. How could any 
one have his enemies pierce his hands and his 
feet ? Yet we find that Scripture had foretold 
they would do this to the Messiah ; they cer- 
tainly did this to Jesus. 

20. What could any one have had to do with 
their giving him vinegar to drink? But God's 
prophets said they would give Messiah vinegar 
to drink ; and we know they gave vinegar to 
Jesus. 

21. Could he have had any control as to 
what they should do with his garments ? But 
Scripture had said long before, they would 



126 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

"divide his garments among them and cast lots 
for his vesture." They certainly treated Jesus' 
garments in this way. 

22. Could any criminal have aught to do 
with who should be crucified with him ? Scrip- 
ture said they would crucify Messiah with mal- 
efactors ; we know that they crucified Jesus 
with such men. 

23. Nor could he control at all as to where 
they should bury him. The prophets said they 
would bury Messiah with the rich ; they so 
buried Jesus. 

24. No criminal could control the people as 
to have them deride him ; however, the Scrip- 
tures had spoken upon this point and said they 
would deride Messiah ; they certainly derided 
Jesus. 

25. Of course, an impostor could have no 
power at all to resurrect himself from the 
grave ; yet the Scriptures say that Messiah 
would rise from the dead ; Jesus rose. 

26. No impostor could ascend up to heaven, 
but the prophets said Messiah would; Jesus did. 

27. No impostor could carry on the work as 
the prophets said it would be carried on ; but 
only lift up your eyes and behold the field, 
dear reader ; is it possible that all these things 



NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 127 

are true of the kingdom of Jesus and He not 
be Messiah ? Oh ! Can it he f 

We close this chapter with a quotation from 
the valuable and readable book, "Many Infalli- 
ble Proofs," by Kev. A. T. Pierson, D.D., and 
we commend the simple, tenable argument 
contained in the quotation. Taking one of the 
prophecies which Jesus made, he discusses the 
probability and non-probability of its being 
fulfilled. We quote, pp. 55, 56 : 

"To answer this proper doubt, consider the 
law of simple and compound probability. When 
a single prediction is made, about which there 
is but one feature, it may or it may not prove 
true; there is therefore one chance in two of 
its being fulfilled. For instance, suppose I say 
there is going to be a very hot summer — it may 
be hot or it may be mild — the chance of fulfill- 
ment is represented by the fraction one-half. 
This is the law of simple probability. If I in- 
troduce a second particular, I get into the 
region of compound probability. For instance, 
suppose I say, .... that June fifteenth will 
be very hot. Here are two predictions; one is 
that there will be extreme heat; the other, that 
that it will be on a certain day. Each predic- 
tion has a half chance of fulfillment; the com- 



128 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

pound probability is one-fourth, i. e., there is 
one chance in four that both predictions will be 
verified. Every new feature added makes the 
fraction of probability smaller. 

"In this prophecy, there is no vague general 
prediction; but a startling array of minute par- 
ticulars. Our Lord draws the portrait of the 
coming event in detail; time, place, persons, 
marked circumstances, all introducing peculiar 
features which leave no doubt as to our power 
to recognize the event, if it shall look like its 
portrait. We find some twenty-five distinct 
predictions here, and, on the law of compound 
probability, the chance of their all meeting in 
one event, is as one in nearly tvjenty millions, 
i. e., the fraction that represents the chance of 
probability is one-half raised to its twenty- 
fourth power, or about one twenty-millionth 
chance ! " 

, With these simple rules of probability before 
us, and every fair-minded reader can see that 
they are perfectly reliable, let us notice how 
many chances there are that the events in the 
life of Jesus of Nazareth could have so com- 
pletely fulfilled all the twenty-seven points, 
which we have noticed above they did. The 
fraction here in His case would have to be 



NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF JESUS. 129 

raised to the twenty-sixth power, or two powers 
higher than Dr. Pierson has computed, or mul- 
tiplying the twenty millions by two twice more, 
and it would be one chance in eighty millions. 
Enormous as this denominator is, and with 
but this one chance in eighty millions that He 
could have been an impostor, yet the fraction 
is not, hy any means, raised to the proper de- 
nominator; for each one of these twenty-seven 
points of prophecy has numerous particulars 
connected and included in it ; so that we must 
count up all the different features of particu- 
larity which are to be found in each one of 
these twenty-seven points; and then raise the 
fraction of one-half to the power represented 
by all these particulars combined. There are 
not less than ten particulars, on the general 
average, of each of these twenty-seven points 
mentioned above, making two hundred and 
seventy particulars, all of which must be met 
in order that Jesus the Nazarene shall fulfill all 
the Messianic prophecies, and which we have 
learned that He did fulfill. Now according to 
the law of probability, which we have just 
learned, the fraction one-half must be multi- 
plied by itself two hundred and sixty-nine 
times ; and that will represent the one chance 



130 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

which He had in the millions represented by 
the denominator, that Jesus could have done 
what He did, and still be an impostor ! Such 
an enormous denominator as this will pro- 
duce, is simply beyond all comprehension ; it 
takes sixty places of figures to represent it, over 
five hundred and forty -four octo-decillions! ! 
A number clear out of all our experiences to 
calculate or comprehend ! ! ! 

Now upon the common, plain law of proba- 
bility, there is but one chance in these five 
hundred and forty-four octo-decillions for Jesus 
to have been an impostor, and then do all the 
things that He did do. Who is the credulous 
one, the man who accepts all this enormous 
proof that Jesus was the Messiah, and receives 
and follows Him as such? Or the man who 
will cling to this one chance in these trillions 
times trillions? 

Oh ! the "many infallible proofs" that Jesus 
is the Messiah ! ! 

Here is how the fraction would stand in real 
figures : 

1 

544,567,902,154,708,736,674,183,077,786,497,976,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 



CHAPTER X. 
SOME UNAVOIDABLE CONCLUSIONS. 



INEAR reader, the object of the preceding- 
book has been to prove one thing, one cen- 
tral thought that has pervaded all these chap- 
ters ; it has been the reason for the writing of 
this book, and we wish to impress that thought 
upon you before we bid you adieu ; and that 
thought is, the one often repeated, Jesus is the 
Messiah of Prophecy, and if the [Messiah, then 
there are some things else that must be true. 
May the Holy Spirit of God aid you to see 
them. 

1. If Jesus is the Christ, Messiah (for both 
mean the same thing), then He is God's own 
chosen Mediator to this world to save sinners. 

God had been preparing the world for years 
for His coming, and has told and foretold, time 
and again, that He was coming to save sinners. 
Hundreds of years was God preparing the 
world for the coming of this Savior of sinners. 



132 THE PROPHECIES EXAMINED. 

2. Then Jesus is the way, the only way. 

God has not a number of ways of saving sin- 
ners, but only one way. He does not save me 
one way, you another, and your neighbor by 
still another way, and so on, giving each of us 
our choice as to how we shall be saved ; but 
He saves sinners by only one way. And that 
way is only by Jesus Christ. See what the 
Scripture says, I. Tim. 2:5: "For there is one 
God, and one mediator between God and men, 
the man Christ Jesus." Do you not see the 
utter uselessness of trying to be reconciled to 
God only by the way He has ordained, through 
Jesus Christ? 

Jesus is the only way, as stated by another 
Scripture, Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salva- 
tion in any other: for there is none other name 
under heaven given among men, whereby we 
must be saved." O, dear soul, there is abso- 
lutely no hope for you out of this Jesus as 
your personal Savior. 

3. Won't you be reconciled to God by 
Jesus? 

Will you not take him as your own personal 
Savior now f Delays are very dangerous ; sin 
grows stronger and your power to resist grows 
weaker ; time flies away so fast, bringing you 



SOME UNAVOIDABLE CONCLUSIONS. 133 

nearer and nearer to eternity, and eternity is 
so long, and you are so poorly prepared ; yea, 
if you be out of Christ, you are not prepared at 
all to enter eternity. May the Holy Spirit 
lead you to accept this blessed Savior as your 
Savior. May God so bless you ! 



PART II. 
THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



PROPHECIES AND THEIR FULFILLMENTS IN 
PARALLEL COLUMNS. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE COMING MESSIAH. 



1. General Promises 
of His Coming. 

Num. 24:17: 

"I shall see him, but not 
now: I shall behold him, 
but not nigh: there shall 
come a Star out of Jacob, 
and a Sceptre shall rise 
out of Israel, and shall 
smite the corners of 
Moab." 

Isa. 59:20: 

"And the Redeemer 
shall come to Zion, and 
unto them that turn from 
transgression in Jacob, 
saith the Lord." 



Fulfilled in Jesus. 

Luke 2:1,7: 

"And it came to pass in 
those days, that there 
went out a decree from 
Cesar Augustus, that all 
the world should be taxed. 
And she brought forth 
her first born son, and 
wrapped him in swad- 
dling clothes, and laid 
him in a manger." 

(This was just before 
Herod died, the last ruler 
of the tribe of Judah, 
[though Archaelaus, a son 



136 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



Hag-gal 2:7: 

"And I will shake all 
nations, and the Desire of 
all nations shall come: 
and I will fill this house 
with glory, saith the Lord 
of hosts/' 



2. When Messiah 
Should Come. 

Gen. 49:10: 

"The sceptre shall not 
depart from Judah, nor a 
lawgiver from between 
his feet, until Shiloh come: 
and unto him shall the 
gathering of the people 
be." 

Dan. 9:24,25: 

"Seventy weeks are de- 
termined upon thy peo- 
ple and upon thy holy 
city, to finish the trans- 
gression, and to make an 
end of sins, and to make 
reconciliation for iniqui- 
ty, and to bring in ever- 
lasting righteousness, and 
to seal up the vision and 
prophecy and to anoint 
the Most Holy. Know 
therefore and understand, 
that from the going forth 



of this Herod, did rule for 
a short time after,] Herod 
was not a Jew, but his 
wife was a daughter of 
Hyrcanus, and her name 
was Mariamne. Herod 
died in the year A. D. 4, 
when Jesus was about 
eight years old.) 

When Jesus Came. 

(This commandment to 
rebuild the temple was 
made by Artaxerxes Lon- 
gimanus, B. C. 457, as we 
can learn from the sev- 
enth chapter of Ezra. The 
"seventy weeks" here 
mentioned are to be inter- 
preted according to the 
way the Bible interprets 
itself elsewhere: for in- 
stance, Num. 14:34, it says: 
"Each day for a year:" 
and again in Ezek. 4:6: "I 
have appointed thee each 
day for a year;" and with 
this understanding of this 
passage, it means a week 
of years: so that the sev- 
enty weeks mean four 
hundred and ninety years: 
if this number be added 
to the year B. C. 457, it 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 



137 



of the commandment to 
restore and to build Jeru- 
salem, unto the Messiah, 
the Prince, shall be seven 
weeks, and threescore and 
two weeks." 

Dan. 2:44: 

"And in the days of 
these kings shall the God 
of heaven set up a king- 
dom, which shall never be 
destroyed: and the king- 
dom shall not be left to 
other people, but it shall 
break in pieces and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, 
and it shall stand for 
ever." 

3. The Place of His 
Birth. 

( 1.) the town named. 

Micah 5:2: 

"But thou, Beth-iehem 
Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thou- 
sands of Judah. yet out of 
thee shall' He come forth 
unto me that is to be Ruler 
in Israel: whose goings 
forth have been from of 
old, from everlasting." 



brings us to the year A.D. 
33, the time when Jesus 
was crucified.) 



Place of the Birth of 
Jesus. 

born in same town. 

Matt. 2:1-6: 

"Now when Jesus was 
born in Bethlehem of Ju- 
dea in the days of Herod 
the king, behold, there 
came wise men from the 
east to Jerusalem. When 
Herod the king had heard 
these things, he was trou- 
bled, and all Jerusalem 
with him. And when he 
had gathered all the chief 
priests and the scribes of 



138 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



(2.) THE TOWN GENER- 
ALLY KNOWN. 

(See how readily the 
chief priests and scribes 
knew where Messiah was 
to be born.) 



4. Manner of Messiah's 
Birth. 
<1.) messiah's u sign." 
Isa. 7:14: 
"Therefore the Lord 



the people together, he 
demanded of them where 
Christ should be born. 
And they said unto him, 
In Bethlehem of Judea: 
for thus it is written by 
the prophet, And thou 
Bethlehem, in the land of 
Juda, art not the least 
among" the princes of Ju- 
da: for out of thee shall 
come a Governor, that 
shall rule my people Is- 
rael." 

Luke 2:4,5,7: 

"And Joseph also went 
up from Galilee, out of the 
city of Nazareth, into Ju- 
dea, unto the city of Da- 
vid, which is called Beth- 
lehem, (because he was of 
the house and lineage of 
David,) To be taxed with 
Mary his espoused wife, 
And she brought forth 
her first-born son, and 
wrapped him in swaddling 
clothes, and laid him in a 
manger." 

Manner of Jesus' 
Birth. 

JESUS' "SIGN." 
Luke 1:26,27,31,32: 
"Gabriel was sent from 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 



139 



himself shall give you a 
sign; Behold, a virgin shall 
conceive, and bear a son, 
and shall call his name 
Immanuel.''' 1 



(2.) MESSIAH'S NAMES. 

Isa. 9:6: 

"For unto us a child is 
born, unto us a son is 
given: and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his 
shoulder: and his name 
shall be called Wonderful 
Counsellor, The mighty- 
God, The everlasting 
Father, The Prince of 
Peace." 



God .... To a virgin .... 
and the virgin's name was 
Mary; And the angel said 
unto her, Fear not Mary: 
for thou hast found favour 
with God. And, behold, 
thou shalt conceive in thy 
womb, and bring forth a 
son, and shalt call his 
name Jesus. He shall be 
great, and shall be called 
the Son of the Highest; 
and the Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne 
of his Father David: And 
he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever; 
and of his kingdom there 
shall be no end." 

Luke 2:11: 

"For unto you is born 
this day in the city of Da- 
vid a Savior, which is 
Christ the Lord. And 
this shall be a sign unto 
you: Ye shall find the 
babe wrapped in swad- 
dling clothes, lying in a 
manger." 



CHAPTER II. 
MESSIAH'S RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. 



1. The Magi to Wor- 
ship. 

Psa. 72:10,15: 

"The kings of Tarshish 
and of the isles shall bring 
presents: the kings of 
Sheba and Seba shall offer 
gifts. And he shall live, 
and to him shall be given 
of the gold of Sheba: 
prayer also shall be made 
for him continually; and 
daily shall he be praised." 



2. Persecuted at 
Birth. 

Jer. 31:15: 

"Thus saith the Lord: 
A voice was heard in Ra- 
mah, lamentation and bit- 
ter weeping; Rahel weep- 
ing for her children re- 
fused to -be comforted for 
her children, because they 
were not." 



They Did Worship 
Jesus. 

Matt. 2:1,2: 

"Now when Jesus was 
born in Bethlehem of Ju- 
dea in the days of Herod 
the king, behold, there 
came wise men from the 
east to Jerusalem, Say- 
ing, Where is he that is 
born King of the Jews ? 
for we have seen his star 
in the east, and are come 
to worship him." 

Jesus Was Perse- 
cuted. 

Matt. 2:16-18: 

"Then Herod, when he 
saw that he was mocked 
of the wise men, was ex- 
ceeding wroth, and sent 
forth, and slew all the 
children that were in 
Bethlehem, and in all the 
coasts thereof, from two 



MESSIAH'S RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. 



141 



3. Messiah to be Driven 
from His Country. 
Hosea 11:1: 
"And called my son out 

of Egypt." 



years old and under, ac- 
cording to the time which 
he had diligently in- 
quired of the wise men. 
Then was fulfilled that 
which was spoken by Jer- 
emy the prophet, saying: 
In Rama was there a 
voice heard, lamentation, 
and weeping, and great 
mourning, Rachel weep- 
ing for her children, and 
would not be comforted, 
because they are not." 

Jesus Was Driven 
from His Country. 
Matt. 2:14,15: 
"When he arose, he 
took the young child and 
his mother by night, and 
departed into Egypt: And 
was there until the death 
of Herod: that it might 
be fulfilled which was 
spoken of the Lord by the 
prophet, saying, Out of 
Egypt have I called my 
son." 



CHAPTER III. 
NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 



1. Human Nature: His 

Ancestry. 

(1.) to be of the seed 

of abraham. 

Gen. 12:3: 

"And in thee (Abra- 
ham) shall all families of 
the earth be blessed." 

Gen. 22:18: 

"And in thy (Abraham) 
seed shall all the nations 
of the earth be blessed; 
because thou hast obeyed 
my voice." 

(The same thought may 
be found in Gen. 18:18; 
26:4, and 28:14.) 

( 2.) AND OF THE SEED OF 
ISAAC. 

Gen. 21:12: 

"For in Isaac shall thy 
seed be called." 



Ancestry of Jesus. 



Matt. 1:1-16: 

"The book of the gen- 
eration of Jesus Christ, 
the son of David, the son 
of Abraham. Abraham 
begat Isaac ; and Isaac be- 
gat Jacob; and Jacob be- 
gat Judas and his breth- 
ren; and Judas begat Pha- 
res and Zara of Thamar: 
and Phares begat Esrom; 
and Esrom begat Aram; 
And Aram begat Amina- 
dab; and Aminadab begat 
Naasson; and Naasson be- 
gat Salmon; and Salmon 
begat Booz of Rachab; 
and Booz begat Obed of 
Ruth; and Obed begat 
Jesse; and Jesse begat Da- 
vid the king," etc. 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 



143 



(3.) AND THE SEED OF 
JACOB. 

Num. 24:17,19: 

"I shall see him, but 
not now: I shall behold 
him, but not nigh: there 
shall come a Star out of 
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall 
rise out. of Israel. Out of 
Jacob shall come he that 
shall have dominion." 



<4.) AND OF THE SEED OF 
JTJDAH. 

Gen. 49:10: 

"The sceptre shall not 
depart from Judah. nor a 
lawgiver from between 
his feet, until Shiloh come; 
and unto him shall the 
gathering of the people 
be. ,J 

Deut. 18:15,18: 

"The Lord thy God will 
raise up unto thee a 
Prophet from the midst of 
thee, of thy brethren, like 
unto me; unto him ye shair 
hearken. I will raise them 
up a Prophet from among 
their brethren, like unto 
thee, and will put my 
words in his mouth; and 
he shall speak unto them 



Luke 3:31-34: 

"Nathan, which was the 
son of David, which was 
the son of Jesse, which 
was the son of Obed, which 
was the son of Booz, which 
was the son of Salmon, 
which was the son of 
Naasson, which was the 
son of Aminadab, which 
was the son of Aram, 
which was the son of Es- 
rom, which was the son 
of Phares, which was the 
son of Juda, which was 
the son of Jacob, which 
was the son of Isaac, 
which was the son of 
Abraham, which was the 
son of Thara," etc. 



144 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



all that I shall command 
him." 

(5.) AND OF THE SEED OF 
JESSE. 

Isa. 11:1,10: 

"And there shall come 
forth a rod out of the stem 
of Jesse, and a Branch 
shall grow out of his 
roots: And in that day 
there shall be a root of 
Jesse which shall stand 
for an ensign of the peo- 
ple; to it shall the Gen- 
tiles seek." 

(6.) AND OF DAVID. 

Psa. 89:3,4: 

"I have made a cove- 
nant with my chosen, I 
have sworn unto David 
my servant, Thy seed will 
I establish for ever, and 
build up thy throne to all 
generations." Also verses 
29 and 36. 

Jer. 23:5.6: 

"Behold, the days come, 
saith the Lord, that I will 
raise unto David a right- 
eous Branch, and a King 
shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judg- 
ment and justice in the 



John 1:45: 

"Philip findeth Na- 
thanael and said unto 
him, We have found him 
of whom Moses in the 
law, and the prophets, did 
write, Jesus of Nazareth, 
the son of Joseph." 



NATURES OF THE COMING MESSIAH. 



145 



earth. In his days Judah 
shall be saved, and Israel 
shall dwell safely: and 
this is his name, THE 
LORD, OUR RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS." 



2. Divine Nature of 
Messiah. 

Isa. 25:9: 

"And it shall be said 
in that day, Lo, this is our 
God: we have waited for 
him, and he will save us: 
this is the Lord; we have 
waited for him, we will be 
glad and rejoice in his 
salvation." 



Isa. 9:6: 

"For unto us a child is 
l3orn, unto us a Son is giv- 
en: and the government 
shall be upon his shoul- 
der; and his name shall be 
called Wonderful Coun- 
sellor, Mighty God, The 
Everlasting Father, The 
Prince of Peace." 



Divinity of Jesus. 

John 1:1-5: 

"In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word 
was with God, and the 
Word was God. The same 
was in the beginning with 
God. All things were 
made by him; and without 
him was not any thing 
made that was made. In 
him was life; and the life 
was the light of men. 
And the light shineth in 
the darkness; and the 
darkness comprehended 
it not." 

I. Cor. 1:30: 

"But of him are ye in 
Christ Jesus, who of God 
is made unto us wisdom, 
and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and re- 
demption." 

Phil. 2:6: 

"Who, being in the 
form of God, thought it 



146 THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



not robbery to be equal 
with God." 

John 5:18: 

"Therefore the Jews 
sought the more to kill 
him, because he had not 
only broken the sabbath, 
but said also that God was 
his Father, making him- 
self equal with God." 



CHAPTER IV. 
MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 



1. Messiah's Gentle- 
ness. 
(1.) as a tender shep- 
HERD. 

Isa. 40:11: 

' ' He shall feed his flock 
like a shepherd: he shall 
gather the lambs with his 
arm, and carry them in 
his bosom." 

Ezek. 34:23: 

"And I will set up one 
Shepherd over them, and 
he shall feed them, my 
servant (see foot note, 
Part I. in loco): he shall 
feed them, and he shall 
be their shepherd." 

Psa. 23:1: 

" The Lord is my shep- 
herd; I shall not want." 



Gentleness of Jesus> 



John 10:11: 

"I am the good Shep- 
herd : the good Shepherd 
giveth his life for the 
sheep." 

Heb. 13:20: 

' ' Now the God of peace, 
that brought again from 
the dead our Lord Jesus t 
that great Shepherd of 
the sheep, through the 
blood of the everlasting 
covenant." 

I. Peter 2:25: 

"For ye were as sheep 
going astray; but are now 
returned unto the Shep- 
herd and Bishop of your 
souls." 

I. Peter 5:4: 

"And when the chief 
Shepherd shall appear, ye 



148 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



shall receive a crown of 
glory." 



<2.) A MAN OF MEEKNESS. JESUS WAS VERY MEEK. 



Isa. 42:2,3: 

u He shall not cry, nor 
lift up, nor cause his voice 
to be heard in the street. 
A bruised reed shall he 
not break, and the smok- 
ing- flax shall he not 
quench." 

Zech. 9:9: 

"Behold, thy King 
cometh unto thee: He is 
just, and having salva- 
tion; lowly, and riding 
upon an ass." 



Matt. 12:19,20: 

"He shall not strive, 
nor cry; neither shall any 
man hear his voice in the 
streets. A bruised reed 
shall he not break, and 
smoking flax shall he not 
quench." 

Matt. 21:4,5: 

"All this was done, that 
it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by the proph- 
et, saying, Tell ye the 
daughter of Sion, Behold, 
thy King cometh unto 
thee, meek, and sitting 
upon an ass." 



(3.) WELL PLEASING TO 
GOD. 

Isa. 42:1: 

"Behold my servant, 
whom I uphold; mine 
elect, in whom my soul 
delighteth; I have put 
my Spirit upon him: he 
shall bring forth judg- 
ment to the Gentiles." 



JESUS WAS WELL 
PLEASING. 

Matt. 3:17: 

"This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well 
pleased." 

Matt. 12:17,18: 

"That it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken 
by Esaias the prophet, 
saying, Behold my serv- 
ant, whom I have chosen; 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 



149 



2. Patient under Suf- 
fering. 

(1.) will be sorely 
maltreated. 

Isa. 50:6: 

' ' I gave my back to the 
smiters, and my cheek to 
them that plucked off the 
hair: I hid not my face 
from shame and spitting 1 ." 

Lam. 3:30: 

"He giveth his cheek 
to him that smiteth him: 
he is filled full with re- 
proach." 



my beloved, in whom my 
soul is well pleased." 

Matt. 17:5: 

"This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well 
pleased; hear ye him." 

Jesus was Patient. 

(1.) he was sorely 
maltreated. 

Matt. 26:67,68: 

" Then did they spit in 
his face, and buffeted him; 
and others smote him with 
the palms of their hands, 
saying, Prophesy unto us, 
thou Christ, Who is he 
that smote thee?" 

Matt. 27:30: 

"And they spit upon 
him, and took the reed, 
and smote him on the 



Mark 14:65: 

"And some began to 
spit on him, and to cover 
his face, and to buffet 
him, and to say unto him, 
Prophesy: and the serv- 
ants did strike him with 
the palms of their hands." 

Luke 22:63-65: 

' 'And the men that held 
Jesus mocked him, and 



150 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



smote him. And when 
they had blindfolded him, 
they struck him on the 
face, and asked him, say- 
ing, Prophesy, who is it 
that smote thee? And 
many other things blas- 
phemously spake they a- 
gainst him." 

Matt. 27:26: 

"And when he had 
scourged Jesus, he deliv- 
ered him to be crucified." 

Mark 15:15: 

"And so Pilate, willing 
to content the people, 
released Barabbas unto 
them, and delivered Jesus, 
when he had scourged 
him, to be crucified." 

John 19:1: 

"Then Pilate therefore 
took Jesus, and scourged 
him." 



(2.) MESSIAH WILL BE 
SILENT WHEN AF- 
FLICTED. 

Isa. 53:7: 

' ' He was oppressed , and 
he was afflicted, yet he 
opened not his mouth: he 
is brought as a lamb to 
the slaughter, and as a 
sheep before her shearers 



JESUS WAS SILENT. 



Matt. 26:62,63: 

"And the high priest 
arose, and said unto him, 
Answerest thou nothing? 
what is it which these 
witness against thee? But 
Jesus held his peace." 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 



151 



is dumb, so he openeth 
not his mouth." 

Psa. 109:4: 

' ' For my love they are 
my adversaries: but I give 
myself unto prayer." 



Matt. 27:12-14: 

"And when he was ac- 
cused of the chief priests 
and elders, he answered 
nothing. Then said Pi- 
late unto him, hearest 
thou not how many things 
they witness against thee? 
And he answered him to 
never a word; insomuch 
that the governor mar- 
velled greatly." 



3. Messiah's Doctrines. 

(1.) his sceptre one of 
righteousness and 

LOVE. 

Psa. 45:6,7: 

"Thy throne, O God, is 
for ever and ever: the 
sceptre of thy kingdom is 
a right sceptre. Thou 
lovest righteousness, and 
hatest wickedness: there- 
fore God, thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil 
of gladness above thy fel- 
lows." 



Jesus' Doctrines. 



Heb. 1:8,9: 

"But unto the Son he 
saith, Thy throne, O God, 
is for ever and ever: a 
sceptre of righteousness 
is the sceptre of thy king- 
dom. Thou hast loved 
righteousness, and hated 
iniquity; therefore God, 
even thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil 
of gladness above thy fel- 
lows." 

John 13:34: 

"A new commandment 
I give unto you, That ye 
love one another; as I 



152 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



(2.) REGENERATION 
PROMISED. 

Jer. 31:33: 

"But this shall be the 
covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel; 
After those days, saith 
the Lord, I will put my 
law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their 
hearts; and will be their 
God, and they shall be my 
people/' 



have loved you, that ye 
also love one another." 

John 15:12: 

"This is my command- 
ment, That ye love one 
another, as I have loved 
you." 

John 15:17: 

"These things I com- 
mand you, that ye love 
one another." 

I. Thess. 4:9: 

"But as touching- broth- 
erly love ye need not that 
I write unto you: for ye 
yourselves are taught of 
God, to love one another." 

Matt. 22:39: 

"And the second is like 
unto it, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself." 

(1.) JESUS TAUGHT RE- 
GENERATION. 

John 3:3:7: 

"Jesus answered and 
said unto him, Verily, 
verily, I say unto thee, 
Except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God. Marvel 
not that I said unto thee, 
Ye must be born again." 

II. Cor. 5:17: 

"If any man be in 



MESSIAH AND HIS DOCTRINES. 



153 



Jer. 32:39: 

"And I will give them 
one heart, and one way, 
that they may fear for 
ever." 

Ezek. 36:26: 

"A Dew heart also will 
I give you." 

(3.) THE HOLY SPIRIT 
PROMISED. 

Ezek. 11:19: 

"I will put a new spirit 
within you; and I will 
take away the stony heart 
out of their flesh." 

Ezek. 36:26,27: 

"And a new spirit will 
I put within you: And I 
will put my Spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes, and ye 
shall keep my judgments, 
and do them." 



Christ, he is a new crea- 
ture: old things are 
passed away; behold, all 
things are become new." 

HOLY SPIRIT SENT BY 
JESUS. 

John 16:7: 

"It is expedient for you 
that I go away: for if I 
go not away, the Com- 
forter will not come unto 
you; but if I depart, I will 
send him unto you." 

John 15:26: 

"But when the Com- 
forter is come, whom I 
will send unto you from 
the Father." 

THE SPIRIT SENT. 

Acts 2:1,4: 

"And when the day of 
Pentecost was fully come, 
.... They were all filled 
with the Holy Ghost, and 
began to speak with other- 
tongues, as the Spirit, 
gave them utterance." 



CHAPTER V. 
MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 



1. The Beginning of 

His Kingdom. 
(1.) the forerunner. 

Mai. 4:5: 

"Behold, I will send 
you Elijah the prophet 
before the coming of the 
great and dreadful day of 
the Lord." 

Josephus Antiq., b. 18, 
ch. 5, I 2, says: 

"Now some of the Jews 
thought that the destruc- 
tion of Herod's army (in 
the battle with Aretas, 
king of Arabia) came from 
God: and that very justly 
as a punishment of what 
he did against John who 
is called 'The Baptist.' 
For Herod slew him, who 
was a good man, and com- 
manded the Jews to exer- 
cise virtue; both as to 
righteousness toward one 
another, and piety to- 



Mark 1:1-3: 

"The beginning of the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ, 
the Son of God: As it is 
written in the prophets, 
Behold, I send my mes- 
senger before thy face, 
which shall prepare thy 
way before thee. The 
voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, Prepare ye 
the way of the Lord, make 
his paths straight." 

Luke 3:3,4: 

"And he came into all 
the country about Jordan, 
preaching the baptism of 
repentance for the remis- 
sion of sins; As it is writ- 
ten in the book of the 
words of Esaias the 
prophet, saying, The 
voice of one crying in the 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 



155 



wards God, and so to come 
to baptism, for that the 
washing with water would 
be acceptable to Him, if 
they made use of it, not in 
order to putting away or 
the remission of some sins 
only: supposing still the 
soul was thoroughly puri- 
fied beforehand by right- 
eousness. 

Now, when many others 
came in crowds around 
him, .... Herod .... 
thought it best by put- 
ting him to death, to pre- 
vent mischief he might 
cause. Accordingly he 
was sent to prison out of 
Herod's suspicious tem- 
per, to Machaerus, the 
castle I before mentioned, 
and was there put to 
death." 



wilderness, Prepare ye 
the way of the Lord, make 
his paths straight." 

John 1:19-23: 

"And this is the record 
of John, when the Jews 
sent priests and Levites 
from Jerusalem to ask 
him, Who art thou? And 
he confessed, and denied 
not; but confessed, I am 
not the Christ. And they 
asked him, What then? 
Art thou Elias? And he 
saith, I am not. Art thou 
that prophet? and he an- 
swered, No. Then said 
they unto him, Who art 
thou? that we may give an 
answer to them that sent 
us. What sayest thou of 
thyself? He said, I am the 
voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, Make straight 
the way of the Lord, as 
said the prophet Esaias." 

Matt. 17:12,13: 

"But I say unto you, 
That Elias is come al- 
ready, and they knew him 
not, but have done unto 
him whatsoever they list- 
ed. Likewise shall also 
the Son of man suffer of 
them. Then the disciples 



156 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



(2.) THE WILDERNESS 
CRY. 

Isa. 40:3: 

"The voice of him that 
crieth in the wilderness, 
Prepare ye the way of 
the Lord, make straight 
in the desert a highway 
for our God." 



(3.) THE WAY PREPARED. 

Mai. 3:1: 

" Behold, I will send my 
messenger, and he shall 
prepare the way before 
me: and the Lord whom 
ye seek, shall suddenly 
come to his temple, even 
the messenger of the cov- 
enant, whom ye delight 
in: behold, he shall come, 
saith the Lord of hosts." 



understood that he spake 
unto them of John the 
Baptist." 



Matt. 3:1-3: 

"In those days came 
John the Baptist, preach- 
ing in the wilderness of 
Judea, and saying, Repent 
ye: for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. For 
this is he that was spoken 
of by the prophet Esaias, 
saying, The voice of one 
crying in the wilderness. 
Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord, make his paths 
straight." 



Matt. 11:9,10: 

"But what went ye out 
to see? A prophet? yea, 
I say unto you, and more 
than a prophet. For this 
is he, of whom it is writ- 
ten, Behold, I send my 
messenger before thy face, 
which shall prepare thy 
way before thee. Verily 
I say unto you, Among 
them that are born of 
women there hath not 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 157 

risen a greater than John 
the Baptist.' 1 

Luke 1:76: 

"And thou, child, shalt 
be called the prophet of 
the Highest: for thou 
shalt go before the face 
of the Lord to prepare his 
ways. To give knowledge 
of salvation unto his peo- 
ple by the remission of 
their sins." 

Luke 1:17: 

' 'And he shall go before 
him in the spirit and 
power of Elias, to turn 
the hearts of the fathers 
to the children, and the 
disobedient to the wisdom 
of the just; to make ready 
a people prepared for the 
Lord." 

Matt. 11:14: 

"And if ye will receive 
it, this is Elias, which 
was for to come." 

Mark 9:13: 

"But I say unto you, 
That Elias is indeed come, 
and they have done unto 
him whatsoever they list- 
ed, as it is written of 
him." 



158 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



2. Messiah to be a 

Preacher of the 

Gospel. 

Isa. 61:1-3: 

" The Spirit of the Lord 
God is upon me; because 
the Lord hath anointed 
me to preach good tidings 
unto the meek; he hath 
sent me to bind up the 
broken hearted, to pro- 
claim liberty to the cap- 
tives, and the opening of 
the prison to them that 
are bound: To proclaim 
the acceptable year of the 
Lord, and the day of ven- 
geance of our God. to 
comfort all that mourn: 
To appoint unto them 
that mourn in Zion. to 
give unto them beauty for 
ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, the garment of 
praise for the spirit of 
heaviness." 



Jesus was a Preacher. 



Luke 4:16-21: 

u And he came to Naza- 
reth, where he had been 
brought up: and. as his 
custom was, he went into 
the synagogue on the sab- 
bath day, and stood up 
for to read. And there 
was delivered unto him 
the book of the prophet 
Esaias. And when he had 
opened the book, he found 
the place where it was 
written, The Spirit of the 
Lord is upon me. because 
he hath anointed me to 
preach the gospel to the 
poor; he hath sent me to 
heal the brokenhearted, 
to preach deliverance to 
the captives, and recover- 
ing of sight to the blind, 
to set at liberty them that 
are bruised, to preach the 
acceptable year of the 
Lord. And he closed the 
book. and he gave it again 
to the minister, and sat 
down. And the eyes of 
all them that were in the 
synagogue were fastened 



MESSIAH S LIFE AND LABORS. 



159 



3. To Be a Great Light. 

Isa. 49:6: 

"I will also give thee 
for a light to the Gentiles, 
that thou mayest be my 
salvation unto the end of 
the earth.*' 

Isa. 9:2: 

lt The people that walked 
in darkness have seen a 
great light: they that 
dwell in the land of the 
shadow of death, upon 
them hath the light 
shined." 

Isa. 42:6: 

"I the Lord have called 
thee in righteousness, and 
will hold thine hand; and 
will keep thee, and give 
thee for a covenant of the 
people, for a light of the 
Gentiles." 



on him. And he began 
to say unto them, This 
day is this Scripture ful- 
filled in your ears." 

John 3:34: 

"For he whom God hath 
sent speaketh the words 
of God: for God giveth 
not the Spirit by measure 
unto him." 

Jesus Was a Great 
Light. 

Luke 2:32: 

"A light to lighten the 
Gentiles, and the glory of 
thy people Israel." 

Matt. 4:13-16: 

"And leaving Nazareth, 
he came and dwelt in Ca- 
pernaum, .... That it 
might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by Esaias the 
prophet, saying, The land 
of Zabulon, and the land 
of Nephthalim, by the way 
of the sea, beyond Jordan, 
Galilee of the Gentiles; 
The people which sat in 
darkness saw great light; 
and to them which sat in 
the region and shadow of 
death light is sprung up." 

John 1:7-9: 

"The same came for a 



160 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



witness, to bear witness of 
the Light, that all men 
through him might be- 
lieve. He was not that 
Light, but was sent to 
bear witness of that Light. 
That was the true Light, 
which lighteth every man 
that cometh into the 
world." 

John 8:12: 

"Then spake Jesus 
again unto them, saying, 
I am the light of the 
world: he that followeth 
me shall not walk in dark- 
ness, but shall have the 
light of life." 

John 9:5: 

"As long as I am in the 
world, I am the light of 
the world." 



4. Messiah To Be a 

Healer of the 

Afflicted. 

Isa. 35:5,6: 

"Then the eyes of the 
blind shall be opened, and 
the ears of the deaf shall 
be unstopped. Then shall 
the lame man leap as a 
hart, and the tongue of 
the dumb sing: for in the 
wilderness shall waters 



Jesus Was a Great 
Healer. 

Matt. 9:28-30: 

"And when he was come 
into the house, the blind 
men came to him: and 
Jesus saith unto them, 
Believe ye that I am able 
to do this ? They said un- 
to him, Yea, Lord. % Then 
touched he their eyes, 



MESSIAH'S LIFE AND LABORS. 



161 



break out, and streams in 
the desert." 

Isa. 29:18,19: 

"And in that day shall 
the deaf hear the words 
of the book, and the eyes 
of the blind shall see out 
of obscurity, and out of 
darkness. The meek also 
shall increase their joy in 
the Lord, and the poor 
among" men shall rejoice 
in the Holy One of Is- 
rael." 



saying, According- to your 
faith be it unto you. And 
their eyes were opened." 

Matt. 11:4,5: 

"Jesus answered and 
said unto them, Go and 
shew John again those 
things which ye do hear 
and see: The blind receive 
their sight, and the lame 
walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, and the deaf 
hear, the dead are raised 
up, and the poor have the 
gospel preached to them." 

Matt. 12:22: 

"Then was brought un- 
to him one possessed with 
a devil, blind and dumb: 
and he healed him." 

Matt. 15:30: 

"And great multitudes 
came unto him, having 
with them lame, blind, 
dumb, maimed, and many 
others, and cast them 
down at Jesus' feet; and 
he healed them." 

John 11:43,44: 

"And when he thus had 
spoken, he cried with a 
loud voice, Lazarus, come 
forth. And he that was 
dead, came forth." 



162 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



5. To Triumphantly 
Enter the Jewish 

Capital. 
Zech. 9:9: 

"Rejoice greatly, O 
daughter of Zion; shout, 
O daughter of Jerusalem: 
behold, thy King cometh 
unto thee: he is just, and 
having salvation: lowly, 
and riding- upon an ass, 
and upon a colt the foal of 



Triumphal Entry of 
Jesus. 

Matt. 21:1-8: 

''And when they drew 
nigh unto Jerusalem, and 
were come to Bethphage, 
unto the mount of Olives, 
then sent Jesus two dis- 
ciples, Saying unto them, 
Go into the village over 
against you, and straight- 
way ye shall find an ass 
tied, and a colt with her: 
loose them, and bring 
them unto me. And if any 
man say aught unto you, 
ye shall say, The Lord 
hath need of them; and 
straightway he will send 
them. All this was done, 
that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by the 
prophet, saying, Tell ye 
the daughter of Sion, Be- 
hold, thy King cometh 
unto thee, meek, and sit- 
ting upon an ass, and a 
colt the foal of an ass. 
And the disciples went. 
and did as Jesus com- 
manded them. and brought 
the ass, and the colt, and 
put on them their clothes. 



MESSIAH S LIFE AND LABORS. 



163 



Psa. 8:2: 

"Out of the mouth of 
babes and sucklings hast 
thou ordained strength 
because of thine enemies, 
that thou mightest still 
the enemy and the aven- 
ger." 

6. He Will Be Re- 
jected. 

Isa. 53:3: 

"He is despised and re- 
jected of men; a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted 
with griefs and we hid as 
it were our faces from 
him: he was despised, and 
we esteemed him not." 



Isa. 49:7: 

"Thus saith the Lord. 



and they set him there- 
on." 

Matt. 21:16: 

"And said unto him, 
Hearest thou what these 
say ? And Jesus saith unto 
them, Yea; have ye never 
read, Out of the mouth of 
babes and sucklings thou 
hast perfected praise ?" 

Jesus Was Rejected. 

Matt. 27:22,23: 

"Pilate saith unto 
them, What shall I do 
then with Jesus which is 
called Christ? They all 
say unto him, Let him be 
crucified. And the gov- 
ernor said, Why, what 
evil hath he done '? But 
they cried out the more, 
saying, Let him be cruci- 
fied." 

Mark 15:13,14: 

"And they cried out 
again, Crucify him. Then 
Pilate said unto them, 
Why, what evil hath he 
done? And they cried out 
the more exceedingly, 
Crucify him." 

Luke 23:18,20: 

' 'And they cried out all 



164 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



the Redeemer of Israel, 
and his Holy One, to him 
whom man despiseth, to 
him whom the nation ab- 
horreth." 



at once, saying, Away with 
this man, and release un- 
to us Barabbas: Pilate 
therefore, willing to re- 
lease Jesus, spake again 
unto them. But they 
cried, saying, Crucify 
him, crucify him." 

John 19:6,15: 

' 'When the chief priests 
therefore and officers saw 
him, they cried out, say- 
ing, Crucify him, crucify 
him. Pilate saith unto 
them, Take ye him, and 
crucify him: for I find no 
fault in him: But they 
cried out, Away with him, 
away with him, crucify 
him." 



CHAPTER VI. 
MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



1. The Betrayal. 

(1.) the betrayer. 

Psa. 41:9: 

"Yea, mine own famil- 
iar friend, in whom I 
trusted, which did eat of 
my bread, hath lifted up 
his heel against me." 



( 2.) THE PRICE PAID. 

Zech. 11:12: 

"And I said unto them, 
If ye think good, give me 



Betrayal of Jesus, 
the betrayer. 

John 13:26,30: 

"Jesus answered, He it 
is, to whom I shall give a 
sop, when I have dipped 
it. And when he had 
dipped the sop, he gave it 
to Judas Iscariot, the son 
of Simon. He then, hav- 
ing received the sop, went 
immediately out; and it 
was night." 

John 18:2,3: 

' 'And Judas also, which 
betrayed him, knew the 
place; .... Judas theD, 
having received a band of 
men .... cometh thither 
with lanterns and torches 
and weapons." 

PRICE PAID FOR JESUS. 

Matt. 26:15: 

"And said unto them, 
What will ye give me, and 



166 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



my price; and if not, for- 
bear. So they weighed 
for my price thirty pieces 
of silver." 

(3.) DISPOSITION OF 
PRICE PAID. 

Zech. 11:13: 

"And the Lord said un- 
to me, Cast it unto the 
potter: a goodly price that 
I was prized at of them. 
And I took the thirty 
pieces of silver, and cast 
them to the potter in the 
house of the Lord." 



I will deliver him unto 
you? And they covenant- 
ed with him for thirty 
pieces of silver." 

DISPOSITION OF PRICE 
PAID FOR JESUS. 

Matt. 27:3-10: 

"Then Judas .... re- 
pented himself, and 
brought again the thirty 
pieces of silver to the 
chief priests and elders, 
saying. I have sinned in 
that I have betrayed the 
innocent blood, .... and 
he cast down the pieces of 
silver in the temple, and 
departed, and went and 
hanged himself. And the 
chief priests took the sil- 
ver pieces, and said, It is 
not lawful for to put them 
into the treasury, because 
it is the price of blood. 
And they took counsel, 
and bought with them the 
potter's field; to bury 

strangers in Then 

was fulfilled that which 
was spoken by Jeremy the 
prophet, saying, And they 
took the thirty pieces of 
silver, the price of him 
that was valued, whom 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



167 



they of the children of 
Israel did value; and gave 
them for the potter's field, 
as the Lord appointed 



<4.) THE SHEPHERD SMIT- 
TEN, THE SHEEP 
SCATTERED. 

Zech. 13:7: 

"Awake, O sword, 
against my Shepherd, and 
against the man that is 
my fellow, saith the Lord 
of hosts: smite the Shep- 
herd, and the sheep shall 
be scattered." 



2. The False Wit- 
nesses. 

Psa. 27:12: 

"Deliver me not over 
unto the will of mine ene- 
mies: for false witnesses 
are risen up against me, 
and such as breathe out 
cruelty." 

Psa. 35:11: 

"False witnesses did 
rise up; they laid to my 
charge things that I knew 
not." 



JESUS TAKEN, THE DIS- 
CIPLES SCATTERED. 

Matt. 26:31: 

"Then saith Jesus unto 
them, All ye shall be of- 
fended because of me this 
night: for it is written, I 
will smite the Shepherd, 
and the sheep of the 
flock shall be scattered 
abroad." 

(Same in Mark 14:27.) 

False Witnesses 
Against Jesus. 

Matt. 26:59-61: 

"Now the chief priests, 
and elders, and all the 
counsel, sought false wit- 
ness against Jesus, to put 
him to death: but found 
none: yea, though many 
false witnesses came, yet 
found they none. At the 
last came two false wit- 
nesses, and said, This fel- 
low said, I am able to de- 
stroy the temple of God, 
and to build it in three 



168 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



3. Treatment at the 
Cross. 

(1.) what messiah him- 
self will do. 

a. WILL SUFFER FOR 
OTHERS. 

Isa. 53:4,5,12: 

"Surely he hath borne 
our griefs, and carried our 
sorrows: yet we did es- 
teem him stricken, smit- 
ten of God, and afflicted. 
But he was wounded for 
our transgressions, he 
was bruised for our in- 
iquities: the chastisement 
of our peace was upon 
him; and with his stripes 
we are healed. And he 
bare the sin of many." 



Treatment of Jesus at 
the Cross. 

what jesus did. 



HE SUFFERED FOR 
OTHERS. 

I. Peter 3:18: 

"For Christ also hath 
once suffered for sins, the 
just for the unjust, that 
he might bring us to 
God." 

I. Cor. 15:3: 

"For I delivered unto 
you first of all that which 
I also received, how that 
Christ died for our sins 
according to the Scrip- 
tures." 

Rom. 4:25: 

"Who was delivered for 
our offences. 

I. Peter 2:21,24: 
"Because Christ also 

suffered for us. Who his 
own self bare our sins in 
his own body on the tree." 

II. Cor. 5:21: 

"For he hath made him 
to be sin for us, who knew 
no sin." 

Heb. 9:28: 

"So Christ was once of- 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



169 



J). WILL. INTERCEDE FOR 
HIS PERSECUTORS. 

Psa. 109:4: 

"For my love they are 
my adversaries; but I give 
myself unto prayer." 

Isa. 53:12: 

"He bare the sin of 
many, and made interces- 
sion for the transgress- 
ors." 



fered to bear the sins of 
many." 
Matt. 8:16,17: 
"When the evening was 
come they brought unto 
him many that were pos- 
sessed with devils: and he 
cast out the spirits with 
his word, and healed all 
that were sick: That it 
might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by Esaias the 
prophet, saying, Himself 
, took our infirmities, and 
bare our sicknesses." 

JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS 
ENEMIES. 

Luke 23:34: 

"Father, forgive them; 
for they know not what 
they do." 

Rom. 8:34: 

"Who is he that con- 
demneth? It is Christ 
that died, yea rather, that 
is risen again, who is even 
at the right hand of God, 
who also maketh inter- 
cession for us." 

Heb. 7:25: 

"Wherefore he is able 
also to save them to the 
uttermost that come unto 
God by him, seeing he 



170 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



ever liveth to make inter- 
cession for them." 

Heb. 9:24: 

"For Christ is not en- 
tered into the holy places 
made with hands, which 
are the figures of the true: 
but into heaven itself, 
now to appear in the pres- 
ence of God for us." 

I. John 2:1: 

"And if any man sin, we 
have an advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous." 



C. WILL CRY UNTO GOD. 

Psa. 22:1: 

"My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me? 
Why art thou so far from 
helping me?" 



JESUS CRIED UNTO GOD. 

Matt. 27:46: 

"And about the ninth 
hour Jesus cried with a 
loud voice, saying, Eli, 
Eli, lama sabachthani ? 
that is to say, My God, my 
God, why hast thou for- 
saken me?" 

(Same in Mark 15:34:) 



d. WILL DIE WITH MALE- 
FACTORS. 

Isa. 53:12: 

"And he was numbered 
with the transgressors." 



JESUS DIED WITH MALE- 
FACTORS. 

Mark 15:27,28: 

"And with him they 
crucified two thieves. . . . 
And the Scripture was 
fulfilled, which saith, And 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



171 



he was numbered with 
the transgressors." 

Matt. 27:38: 

"Then were there two 
thieves crucified with 
him: one on the right 
hand, and another on the 
left." 

Luke 23:33: 

"And when they were 
come to the place, which 
is called Calvary, there 
they crucified him, and 
the malefactors, one on 
the right hand, and the 
other on the left." 

Luke 22:37: 

"For I say unto you, 
that this that is written 
must yet be accomplished 
in me, And he was reck- 
oned among ,the trans- 
gressors: For the things 
concerning me have an 
end." 



( 2. ) WHAT OTHERS WILL. 

DO TO HIM. 

a. WILL PIERCE HIS 

HANDS AND FEET. 

Psa. 22:16: 

"They pierced my 
hands and my feet." 
Zech. 13:6: 
"And one shall say unto 



WHAT THEY DID TO 

JESUS. 

JESUS WAS PIERCED. 

John 20:25,27: 

"Except I shall see in 
his hands the print of the 
nails, and put my finger 
into the print of the nails,. 



172 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



him, What are these 
wounds in thine hands?" 



b. WILL GIVE HIM VINE- 
GAR TO DRINK. 

Psa. 69:21: 

"They gave me also gal 1 
for my meat; and in my 
thirst they gave me vine- 
gar to drink." 



£. WILL DIVIDE HIS GAR- 
MENTS; CAST LOTS FOR 
HIS COAT. 

Psa. 22:18: 

"They part my gar- 



and thrust my hand into 
his side, I will not be- 
lieve. Reach hither thy 
finger, and behold my 
hands; and reach hither 
thy hand, and thrust it 
into my side; and be not 
faithless, but believing." 

THEY GAVE JESUS VINE- 
GAR TO DRINK. 

Matt. 27:34: 

"They gave him vine- 
gar to drink mingled with 
gall: and when he had 
tasted thereof, he would 
not drink." 

Luke 23:36: 

"And the soldiers also 
mocked him, coming to 
him, and offering him 
vinegar." 

John 19:29: 

"Now there was set a 
vessel full of vinegar: and 
they filled a sponge with 
vinegar, and put it upon 
hyssop, and put it to his 
mouth." 

THEY DIVIDED JESUS' 

GARMENTS; CAST LOTS 

FOR HIS COAT. 

John 19:23,24: 

"Then the soldiers, 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



1T3 



ments among them, and 
cast lots upon my ves- 
ture." 



C?. THEY BREAK NO BONES, 
BUT PIERCED HIM. 

Exod. 12:46: 

"Neither shall ye break 
a bone thereof (i.e., of the 
passover lamb)." 

Num. 9:12: 

"They shall leave none 
of it unto the morning, 
nor break any bone of it." 
(The passover lamb.) 

Psa. 31:20: 

"He keepeth all his 
bones: not one of them is 
broken." 

Zech. 12:10: 

"And they shall look 



when they .... took his 
garments, and made four 
parts, to every soldier a 
part; and also his coat: 
now the coat was without 
seam, .... Let us not rend 
it, but cast lots for it, 
whose it shall be: that the 
Scripture might be ful- 
filled, which saith, They 
parted my raiment among 
them, and for my vesture 
they did cast lots. These 
things therefore the sol- 
diers did." 

THEY BROKE NO BONES 

OF JESUS, BUT PIERCED 

HIM. 

John 19:32,33,36: 

"Then came the sol- 
diers, and brake the legs 
of the first, and of the 
other which was crucified 
with him. But when they 
came to Jesus, and saw 
that he was dead already, 
they brake not his legs. 
For these things were 
done, that the Scriptures 
should be fulfilled, A bone 
of him shall not be 
broken." 

John 19:37: 

"And again another 



174 



THE PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 



upon me whom they have 
pierced." 



6. THEY WILL DERIDE 
MESSIAH. 

Psa. 22:6-8: 

"But I am a worm, and 
no man: a reproach of 
men, and despised of the 
people. All they that see 
me laugh me to scorn: 
they shoot out the lip, 
they shake the head, say- 
ing 1 , he trusted on the 
Lord that he would de- 
liver him: let him deliver 
him, seeing he delighted 
in him." 



Scripture saith, They 
shall look on him whom 
they pierced." 

THEY DERIDED JESUS. 

Matt. 27:39-43: 

"And they that passed 
by reviled him, wagging 
their heads, and saying, 
Thou that destroyest the 
temple, and buildest it in 
three days, save thyself. 
If thou be the Son of God, 
come down from the cross. 
Likewise also the chief 
priests mocking him, with 
the scribes and elders, 
said, he saved others: him- 
self he can not save. If he 
be the King of Israel, let 
him now come down from 
the cross, and we will be-. 
lieve him. He trusted in 
God; let him deliver him 
now. if he will have him: 
for he said, I am the Son 
of God." 

Mark 15:29-32: 

"And they that passed 
by railed on him. wagging 
their heads, and saying. 
Ah, thou that destroyest 
the temple, and buildest 
it in three days. Save thy- 



MESSIAH'S ARREST AND DEATH. 



175 



self, and come down from 
the cross. Likewise also 
the chief priests mocking- 
said among- themselves 
with the scribes, he saved 
others; himself he can not 
save. Let Christ the King- 
of Israel descend now 
from the cross, that we 
may see and believe." 



/. WILL BURY HIM WITH 
THE RICH. 

Isa. 53:9: 

' 'And he made his grave 
with the wicked, and with 
the rich in his death." 



JESUS WAS BURIED WITH 
THE RICH. 

Matt. 27:57f. 

"At even, .... came a 
rich man .... and laid 
it in his own new tomb." 

(Same is in Mark 15: 
43-46.) 



CHAPTER VII. 
MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. 



1. Would Never See 
Corruption. 

Psa. 16:10: 

"For thou wilt not leave 
my soul in hell; (See Part 
I.) neither wilt thou suf- 
fer thine Holy One to see 
corruption." 



Jesus Never Saw Cor- 
ruption. 

Acts 2:27,31: 

"Because thou wilt not 
leave my soul in hell (See 
Part I.), neither wilt thou 
suffer thine Holy One to 
see corruption. He, see- 
ing this before, spake of 
the resurrection of Christ, 
that his soul was not left 
in hell, neither his flesh 
did see corruption."' 

Acts 13:34,35: 

"And as concerning 
that he raised him up 
from the dead, now no 
more to return to corrup- 
tion, he said on this wise, 
I will give you the sure 
mercies of David. Where- 
fore he saith also in an- 
other psalm, Thou shalt 
not suffer thine Holy One 
to see corruption." 

Luke 24:6,46: 

"He is not here, but is 
risen: remember how he 



MESSIAH TO RISE FROM THE DEAD. 



IT 



2. His Ascension. 

Psa. 68:18: 

"Thou hast ascended on 
high, thou hast led cap- 
tivity captive; thou hast 
received gifts for men." 



Psa. 24:7: 

"Lift up your heads, O 
ye gates; and be ye lifted 
up, ye everlasting doors; 
and the King of glory 
shall come in." 



spake unto you when he 
was yet in Galilee. And 
said unto them, Thus it 
is written, and thus it be- 
hooved Christ to suffer, 
and to rise from the dead 
the third day." 

Mark 16:6: 

"And he saith unto 
them, Be not affrighted: 
ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, 
which was crucified: he is 
risen; he is not here." 

Matt. 28:6: 

"He is not here: for he 
is risen, as he said." 

Ascension of Jesus. 

Acts 1:9: 

"And when he had 
spoken these things, while 
they beheld, he was taken 
up; and a cloud received 
him out of their sight." 

Luke 24:51: 

"And it came to pass, 
while he blessed them, he 
was parted from them, 
and carried up into hea- 
ven." 

Mark 16:19: 

' 'So then , after the Lord 
had spoken unto them, he' 
was received up into hea- 
ven, and sat on the right 
hand of God." 



CHAPTER VIII. 
HIS KINGDOM TO GROW. 



1. His Kingdom To Be a 
Missionary Kingdom. 

Psa. 72:8: 

"He shall have domin- 
ion also from sea to sea, 
and from the river unto 
the ends of the earth." 

Psa. 2:8: 

"Ask of me, and I shall 
give thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the 
uttermost parts of the 
earth for thy possession." 

Zech. 9:10: 

"And his dominion 
shall be from sea even to 
sea, and from the river 
even to the ends of the 
earth." 

2. To Be Propagated by 

His Converts. 

Isa. 52:10: 

"The Lord hath made 
bare his holy arm in the 
eyes of all the nations; 
and all the ends of the 
earth shall see the salva- 
tion of our God.'" 



Jesus' Kingdom is Mis- 
sionary. 

Luke 24:47: 

"And that repentance 
and remission of sins 
should be preached in his 
name among - all nations, 
beginning 1 at Jerusalem." 

Mark 16:15: 

''And he said unto 
them, Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature." 



Jesus' Kingdom So 
Propagated. 

Matt. 28:19: 

"Gove (disciples) there- 
fore, and teach all na- 
tions, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost." 



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